Mommy Grew Up Different
by WanderlustandFreedom
Summary: Ben never really had any reservations about making Mal his wife, and when the time came for them to have children, he didn't have any worries about that either. Mal was determined to give her kids the best childhood she could. She wasn't perfect but there was no one Ben would have ever trusted more to be his partner in crime and his kids' mom.
1. Multiplications

"Alright Zach, what's three times two?" Ben asks his three-year-old son, kneeling down beside his bed and smiling as the child counts on his pudgy toddler fingers.

"Six," Zach replies and looks at Ben expectantly. Ben's smile stretches even wider.

"That's right!" He applauds, holding a hand up for a high-five. "What's six times three?"

That was a harder one, but they'd gradually been moving into bigger numbers the last few weeks. Zach furrows his brow. He counts on his fingers, folds his arms across his chest, and then analyzes his covers in deep thought. Ben hears a noise from the hallway and briefly looks over to see Mal leaning against the doorway, furrowing her brow the same Zach is as she listens. She must have already finished putting their other son, Tyler, to bed. That means he's running behind.

"Eighteen," Zach replies, brightening up as he remembers the answer.

Ben laughs. "That's right!" He exclaims and then pushes up off the floor to sit beside the small child on the bed. Zach scoots over against the wall and pats his blue striped sheets, indicating Ben can move forward. Ben chuckles and reaches across the bed to pick up the book his son had picked out. "Alright, champ, are we reading about Rapunzel and Eugene tonight, or are we - what's this?" Ben raises an eyebrow as Zach reaches out for the thick book in excitement.

"It's my word book," Zach explains, snuggling into his pillow and opening it up. "Aunt Jane said all the kids in the high schools get one, and she gave me this one to keep. See? My name is on it." He holds the book close to his nose, flips through the pages, and takes a deep inhale. "It smells like a good book," he mumbles as he curls into Ben's side. "She said it'd help me learn new words."

"It's called a dictionary," Ben raises an eyebrow, fighting a little smile as he looks up to see Mal still looking at them confusedly in the doorway. "Dad used to read through this when he was younger too. Not as young as you, though. You can look through it to find words you don't know or go through and see which ones you do know."

Zach nods, opens to the first page, and skims down the entries. He skips over the letter 'A's and goes straight for the first long word he sees. "Aardvark," he announces, nuzzling his sandy blonde hair into Ben's side as Ben leans back against the headboard and starts combing his fingers through Zach's hair. "An animal with a long snout and a long sticky tongue that feeds mostly on termites and is active at night." He looks up at Ben with his finger on that last description. "That means they're nocturnal like cats, right?"

Ben chuckles. He can't believe how much his son knows. He's well aware it isn't normal for a kid to be this knowledgeable, but he isn't going to we complain too much. It's nice to have someone to talk to like this. "That's right," He agrees. "Like cats and snakes and lizards and things."

"It must live in a hot climate," Zach reasons. "And it moves at night when it's not so hot."

Ben hears Mal shift in the doorway and he glances up to see she's dropped her hands in something like surprise. He smiles up at her, and though he can't see her expression, he figures it must be something like pride. She hasn't been able to come in to help him put Zach to sleep the last few months as Tyler tends to turn his furniture into animals when he's anxious for bedtime and she usually has to round up and return a herd or two to its original form. Zach, however, doesn't have magic and prefers reading aloud to his parents as part of his bedtime routine, so that's pretty easy for Ben to cover as Mal tried to calm Tyler down. However, he was exhausted tonight, so Mal gets to listen in on what he and Tyler usually work on in the evenings.

"Abacus," Zach reads. "An instrument for doing arithmetic by sliding counters along rods or in grooves."

Ben puts his finger down on the word 'arithmetic'. "What's that mean, champ?" He asks.

"Math," Zach shrugs. "It's like what we've been working on. Multiplications. Like two times two and six times six."

"Which is?" Ben prompts, and Zach puts the book down to tap his index fingers together.

"Four and thirty-six," Zach announces. "Which together are forty."

"Good job," Ben smiles over at Mal. She is standing very still in the doorway, and he can't tell if she's breathing or not. Zach keeps reading, mumbling by his side, and Mal slowly creeps into the room to hover by the foot of the bed. Zach finishes reading about 'abolitionist' and then reaches for a pencil on his headboard to circle the word, indicating he's interested in learning more about it. Ben isn't surprised - it's the same kind of concept he lives for. He leans forward to take Mal's hand and it's then that he realizes her face is drawn and taut and she's staring down at the book in Zach's lap like it's an evil thing she doesn't want around her son. Ben frowns. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Zach looks up immediately and sets the pencil and book aside. "Mommy..." He whines, leaning on his knees with his arms outstretched. "Are you feeling sad?"

"No, baby," Mal smiles a little tight, scared smile. He knows the look, but he hasn't seen it for a while. Not since Zach was born. There's the occasional exception - when their toddlers go near stairs or when they first started standing or when Ben tosses them into the air, but for the most part, he doesn't see the 'I don't like this at all' face. She takes Zach into her arms and hugs him tightly, and Ben tilts his head at her while Zach's head is turned away. She ignores him, which raises Ben's concern even more.

Ben puts a hand on Zach's back. "Bud, it's time for bed," he announces. "I'll read more of your new dictionary with you tomorrow, but Mom and Dad had a long day today. You can stay up a little longer and read, or you can go to bed now."

"I'll go to bed," Zach yawns. He climbs back into his covers and then pushes the dictionary away. "You can answer my questions later." Ben snorts, pulls the covers up around the little three-year-old, and then kisses his hair as Zach closes his eyes. He and Mal walk to the door, glancing back every so often as parents are wont to do. Ben lets her into the hall before him, shuts the door softly, and then turns with an open mouth to reask Mal what happened. He doesn't get a syllable out before she's practically exploded into rushed whispers.

"You're doing multiplication with him?" She demands, clutching her hair. "And he's reading a dictionary? He's four! He's not even four - he'll be four in three months! How long has this been going on?"

Ben blinks. "Is it a problem?" He asks. "You already knew he liked reading."

"Well, I mean, I'm glad that he's smart and everything, but..." Mal chews on her lip with wide eyes darting back and forth without landing on him. "Don't you think he's too young?"

"He's gifted," Ben shrugs. "I have no idea where he gets it from, but he catches on so quickly. We've been doing multiplication together now for almost two weeks. I'm trying to get him to learn his fours and sixes."

"I thought you were doing additions?" Mal questions, biting her lip and turning from one side to the other as if she can't decide which direction she wants to go. "I thought you were going to be starting subtractions once he got the hang of it."

"We did," Ben shrugged. "He caught on really fast. He can do two-digit addition and subtractions in his head and everything else on paper. So I moved to multiplication." He catches her hand as she spins around in a frantic circle. "Hey - what's the issue here? He's smart, so what?"

Mal rips her hand free only to wave it in front of her like she burned it and she's trying to shake off the pain. "I don't know that stuff, Ben!" She snaps in a whisper. "What's a noc- a n- an animal at night! and multiplication is like... second grade here, right?"

"Third," Ben corrects quietly.

"That's not better!" Mal snaps. "Why is he growing up so fast? Why is he learning so much? I mean, I'm happy - I am! He's such a brilliant, perfect boy, but he's going to grow up thinking I'm a dunce because I can't answer any of those questions!"

"You can't answer what six times six is?" Ben drawls slowly, though he understands her panic now. Auradon schooling system is intimidating enough to Mal, whose Dragon Hall classes barely taught them to read and write. If not for Yen Sid, the vast majority of Island Children would have had to retake elementary courses in High school, and some of them still can't read or write.

"Of course I can!" Mal snaps. "But... but... he's going this fast and he's just going to keep going! I just had my baby Ben - I don't want him to be big yet!"

"You're not going to lose him," Ben tells her, taking her hands and squeezing them tightly. "Mal, he adores you. Did you see how sad he got when he thought you were sad in there? You're his whole world. He and Tyler both think you're the literal sun." He drags her into his arms and lets her claw around at his collarbone for a hold before wrapping her hands around his back and letting out a little breath.

She's a good mom. She lifts Zach up to pick books off of higher shelves and retrieves toys that Tyler likes to hurl across the room and she lets all three of them - Ben included - curl into her when they watch movies together and she's the stabilizing rock that holds his little family together. But he gets how this scares her. After all, Zach won't be little forever, and his questions are only going to get more complex and hard to answer.

* * *

Tyler gets a little older to where he's now three and Zach is four and Tyler is no longer attempting to create a zoo in his bedroom before bedtime. Ben and Mal start rotating again, and Mal learns very quickly that Zach's bedtime routine is now very far out of her depth. A stack of various encyclopedias - some children's and some not - sit beside his bed with his dog-eared and marked-up dictionary in a prized position on his headboard. She manages to help her baby get through brushing teeth and pajamas without fumbling too much, but then Zach is curling up into his pillow and pulling the blue comforter he got at Christmastime around his shoulders as Mal skins the spines of the encyclopedias for something she recognizes. "The Plant World", one reads. "How Government Works - for children", says another. "You can speak French!" a third announces.

"Can we read my dictionary?" Zach asks after patiently waiting about thirty seconds as Mal examines each of the unfamiliar titles beside his bed. Mal nods with a swallow and Zach retrieves his blue and white dictionary and opens it up in the middle. She takes a deep breath to calm herself and then panics again when the first word Zach reads is unfamiliar.

"Minuend," He mumbles as he lays his head down on her shirt and leans the book open on her legs. "A number from which another number is to be subtracted."

Mal's skin crawls. Now that she's thinking about it, the word sounds vaguely familiar in the back of her head. Maybe it was included in a lesson years ago or something. But the fact she didn't know it is the problem. If he asks any questions, what will she say?

Luckily, most of the words are pretty straightforward and there isn't a lot that she misses. There are mislead and mission and mistake, all of which are pretty okay, and then the occasional word like mirth or a mite.

"Mite - o - chon - drian," Zach sounds out and then pauses to yawn. "One of the parts found in the cytoplasm of a cell outside the nucleus that provides the cell with energy released from the breakdown of nutrients."

"Baby, do you know what that means?" Mal blurts out. Her head is spinning. It's somehow easier to remember what the various terms mean from her high school classes when Zach is sounding out the big words so carefully, but she still only has a vague recollection of what it means.

Zach nods. "We're made up of cells," he explains, running a hand up his arm. "And cells have DNA that tells them how we need to be built. And this is part of a cell that makes energy." He curls up closer to her arm. "Dad told me about it a while ago."

Of course Dad told him. Dad is smart and was taught these things as a child. Mom was not.

"Mitosis," Zach begins, yawns widely, and then looks at the page through half-lidded eyes to finish. "Process of cell division by which two new nuclei are formed, each containing the original number of chromosomes." He finally sets the book down, rubs his eyes, and then rolls over onto his pillow. Mal reaches over to tuck him in. "Mom?" He calls, eyes closed as he mumbles against his pillow. "How does a cell get the same number of DNA when it becomes two new ones?"

Mal's mind blanks out and she stammers a little as she slides off his bed onto her knees. "I, uh, I think they double, baby. They double up and then divide."

Zach squeezes his pillow, opens his eyes, and looks up. "But... they're already doubled?" He ponders aloud. "They're in a twisty spiral."

That Mal remembers. Her teacher had a giant stretchable model that Evie and Doug once rented out and examined in their dorm room. "Maybe they double the twisted DNA?" She suggests, relaxing a little as she runs a hand up and down Zach's back.

Zach shrugs and buries his face into his pillow. "I'll ask dad tomorrow," He yawns. "Goodnight mom."

Mal sits down hard on her tailbone with every bone in her body vibrating. Her son's words go through her like a bullet. 'I'll ask Dad'. She slowly forces herself to get up and walk to the door. She pulls it shut before she collapses beside the frame and presses her fingertips to her head.

Why is he asking questions like this already? Why doesn't she know the answers? Has he already caught on to the fact she's not nearly as smart as he and Ben are? How much longer does she have before he realizes she's a complete idiot who has no chance of ever learning half of the things he practically downloads into his brain?

Ben finds her there, on the floor outside her son's room mumbling 'questions' and 'cells' underneath her breath. And at three a.m the following morning, when he's awakened by the light of her phone as she reads a seventh-grade lesson on cells and biology, he doesn't say a word.


	2. Grandma

"You know, just because you don't know about lightning and thunder doesn't mean you're not smart," Ben sighs from the doorway as Mal clicks through the twenty tabs she has open on her computer. "You just know other things. Who cares if Zach knows what the plant is called - you know whether or not it's edible."

"Great," Mal snaps irritably. "You and he can talk about electricity and... reactions in the atmosphere and I'll tell him where best to stab a man so he dies." She snaps the lid of her laptop shut with her eyes closed and lets out a ragged, ashamed breath. "I can't tell him things like that," she moans. "He already knows you're smarter than I am and I'm scarier than you. If I tell him things like that, he'll think I'm a monster."

"He's not going to think you're a monster," Ben sighs, pinching his fingertips to the bridge of his nose. He already knows he doesn't have much chance of convincing her, though. They've been having this discussion for almost two years now.

"Why is he growing up?" Mal groans, burying her face in her hands. "I can't deal with him getting bigger and all these things... Tyler still can't read by himself and he's almost four now!"

"Zach's a special case," Ben sighs. He's not sure how to console her - is there any consolation for a mom who feels like her baby is growing up too fast? And all she says is true - Zach amazes everyone who meets him. He's somewhere in between a third and a fifth-grade level as far as his knowledge goes, but his rationing is beyond even some adults Ben knows in the courts. Most of what he knows is from reading or Ben and Mal talking with him. They called in a tutor a while ago, and Zach was nice enough to her, but he simply learned too fast for her to be able to develop lessons for him. The local school kind of shook their heads and said that it would be a waste of his potential to have him sit in with even the sixth graders, who need things to be taught more than once whereas he remembers everything, and the only premiere school for kids his age is five hours away, so the only schooling he's done has been online and at-home activities. Now that Tyler is almost to kindergarten age and he's being grouped in with the rest of his age group, he and Mal are starting to understand exactly where a child of Zach's age should be. And it's not sitting upside down in the armchair in the library reading Einstein's theory of special relativity for fun. (He couldn't understand it, but he keeps track of words and phrases and that's how he figures things out)

"Is this good for him?" Mal sighs, tugging on her hair a little. "He's not around any other kids except for his brother and his cousins. and he's moving so fast... what happens when he levels out?"

Ben shrugs. It's going to be a long time before Zach levels out. And he's not too concerned with Zach's friends. Sure, the crown prince doesn't get out much, but he's kind and amicable and gets along well with everyone. He's not a very temperamental child, even when pestered by Zach or Jay's kids.

"We need something he can focus on learning that he won't master the moment it's out of someone's mouth," Mal sighs. "Preferably something with other children." She glances over at Ben with a soft, pleading sigh. "For my sanity and his sake."

"I don't think there's a problem," Ben sighs, sitting down beside her. "But it might be good for him to know what it's like to not learn something right off the bat."

"I was thinking of putting Tyler in dance," Mal sighs. "The other moms at the school have some of his friends in a class together. It's like a tumbling, gymnastics program. After school... let out some of his energy."

"Well, it's not like he can go battle pirates for fun like you used to," Ben snorts, nudging her side even as Mal frowns. "That sounds good. Are you going to put Zach in one?"

"Well, then I'd have to drive out there and back and then there again to drop him off and pick him up. Tyler can walk with his friends. One of the moms works in the building," Mal sighs, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "It would be better to have something I can take him to when I drop Tyler off at school."

Ben puts his hands on her shoulders and rubs his fingertips into her shoulders. "Maybe... music?" He suggests, and then a new plane of understanding opens to his eyes. "Actually... that's a great idea. Learning an instrument helps make connections in kid's brains. He'll have to practice to get good at it and train the muscles in his fingers to-"

"Oh my gosh, you're just like him!" Mal groans. "Why did I marry someone smart? This was a horrible idea!"

Ben laughs. He can't help it. He kisses her cheek and mumbles an apology against her skin. "I'll talk to him and ask what sounds cool," He tells her. "And then I'll get back to you, okay?"

* * *

Thus, Zach begins taking guitar at age five. They pick a studio two buildings away from the public library, so for an hour and fifteen minutes Zach does guitar, then he goes to the library for weekly crafts lessons that other homeschooled kids participate in, and then waits the last hour or so before Mal or Ben picks Tyler up from school. He doesn't mind the wait since he gets to read, but he does mind the lessons themselves. Guitar, it turns out, is hard for him. He gets annoyed, but never angry. Sometimes he asks Mal if he can not go, but he doesn't argue when she disagrees. Once he kicks the empty guitar case, but their oldest child isn't very explosive or hot-headed. Ben's proud of him. After all, it isn't easy to struggle with something, and after learning everything else so easily, it's hard to have to practice something as simple as plucking strings in the right order.

For the first time, he progresses at the same rate as the other kids taking it with him, and Ben sees all of Mal's nerves relax one by one. It's still hard for her to see him move so fast in other subjects, but so long as she can listen to him complain about disliking guitar and how much the strings hurt his fingers, she's convinced that he'll still come to her for advice and comfort and she can keep trying to be a good mom.

For several months, Ben listens to his eldest mutter in the family room as he plucks and presses and then strums on his instrument. Sometimes he has to close his eyes when an out-of-tone note vibrates in his ear or when he hears Zach growl in the little way that reminds Ben a.) his son is struggling and b.) the Beast curse definitely still lives on in their family. Then, one day, he walks through the room and listens to Zach play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' without any pauses and on all the right keys. And then Zach sets down the guitar with a proud smile and looks up for approval. And at the moment, man, wow. He's been proud of Mal before, but never like this.

* * *

The idea that the kids would one day have questions about Mal's childhood had occurred to him, but he'd always brushed it aside because they hadn't started asking questions yet. He assumes Mal has been thinking the same way. "It's not a problem yet, so let's not talk about it." But the inevitable fault in that plan is that they're both completely thrown off when they finally do ask.

"Dad," Zach asks in the car from the backseat as he balances a book strategically so Tyler can't romp his action figure over it. "The evil fairy in Sleeping Beauty is Grandma, right?"

Mal chokes on her coffee and Ben whips his head around before she seizes the wheel to ensure they don't veer into a new lane. The car next to them honks unpleasantly as their morning commute is interrupted.

Tyler falls out of his seat and onto the floor, where he whines a little before getting back up and sitting down. He sulks in disappointment - he told them he was buckled up and now his cover has been blown. Ben pulls to the side of the road and since he's the better composed of the two adults, he turns around to buckle Tyler up with a firm expression and put a hand on Zach's leg. Zach's face is white.

"Sorry guys," Ben breathes, still holding a hand on Zach's leg. "We, uh, weren't expecting you to ask about Grandma." He exhales and turns to Mal, who is as white-faced as Zach is as she stares stone-faced out the windshield. "Yes, Grandma was the Evil Fairy. Kinda like how Grandpa Adam was the Beast a long time ago."

"So she's dead?" Zach asks quietly. Mal recoils next to Ben like someone threatened to hit her. Ben's a bit wary too. Zach is seven, so it's not exactly strange that he knows the Beauty and the Beast stories and Sleeping Beauty. It's not strange either that he's asking about death and can understand that concept. Poor Mal looks like she'll be sick though. How many deaths had she witnessed(or participated in) by the time she was his age?

"No," Ben replies simply. He hopes Zach won't ask any more questions. He's not sure Mal can handle him explaining how she's alive and on the Isle in human form with her powers bound and how Mal hasn't gone to see her since before she got pregnant. He doesn't even want to explain why his dad thought it would be a good idea to bring back all the villains who had died to punish them further. It's easier to let Zach believe she never died in the first place, like it's easier to let him believe in Santa Claus rather than risk him explaining it to one of his friends.

"Is it a bad thing to talk about?" Zach asks, biting his lip the way Mal does when she's nervous. Ben hides a small, anxious laugh.

"No," he assures his son. "No, you can ask about Grandma. We just weren't expecting you to and you surprised us." He pats Zach's leg to reassure him and then turns with a shaky breath to Mal to see if she has anything to add or clarify. Slowly, she turns back to try and face Zach.

"Mommy doesn't really talk to Grandma anymore," She whispers. "Grandma wasn't a very good mom to me. That's why she doesn't come and see us like Grandma Belle and your Grandpas do."

"You have a mom?" Zach shouts, kicking his legs out and falling back into his chair like he's gone boneless from the shock.

Mal cracks a smile as Zach shifts a few inches away from his loud little brother and rolls his eyes. "Yes, Beastie. Daddy has a mom, why wouldn't Mommy?"

"Because Mommy's tough," Tyler yells, taking his dragon action figure and flying it in circles in front of him. "And Daddy's a big softie!"

Mal bursts into laughter as Ben glares a little from his seat. Zach tilts his book into a shield as Tyler's dragon soars into his airspace and whispers: "I think Dad's tough too." Ben looks up through the rearview mirror to check for cars coming up behind them and also to glance at Zach as he leans against the window with his book mostly hiding his face. The title, which he can read even in the mirror, is 'Auradon History - Updated version with King Benjamin and Queen Maleficent.' He exhales slowly.

They make it to the school without another almost-crash and Mal unbuckles her seat belt to climb out and come around to help Tyler jump out. Zach lowers his book to glance out the window in interest at the other children who are bustling around the elementary school, but then ultimately returns to his stories. When Mal opens the door, Tyler pounces out and jumps into her chest in a way that makes her laugh but almost knocks her over. She squeezes him tightly and kisses his head before he's trying to struggle to the ground. She juggles him down as she also tries to reach in to grab his backpack, and when she turns around, he's already dashed away to his friends. Mal sighs and shuts the door as Ben chuckles softly. As soon as she's gone, Ben turns around to Zach.

"Hey, bud?" He calls, and Zach looks up from his book. Ben nods to it. "Who are you reading about?"

"Grandma and Grandpa," Zach replies, glancing back down to his place. "This is talking about them getting married."

"Okay," Ben nods and then glances out to make sure Mal isn't returning yet. She's not. She and Tyler are easily recognizable from twenty feet away, where the two purplettes exchange a hug before the bell rings inside and Mal waves goodbye to him. Other parents and teachers stand around, glancing cautiously at the queen as her vibrant-haired son romps inside with his friends. "Listen, bud, if you have any questions about Grandma Maleficent or Grandpa Hades, it might be better to ask Dad first alone and I can answer it or tell you if Mom would be better to answer it."

Zach looks a little caught-in-the-headlights as he stares at Ben sheepishly. Ben smiles to comfort him as he sees Mal start to make her way back to the car. "You're okay to ask questions. We're not going to hide things from you. But it can be a bit hard for mom to remember, okay?"

"Okay," Zach nods.

Mal opens the door and gets in with a little exhale. She buckles her seatbelt and then smiles at the two of them, completely unaware. Zach looks back down at his book as Ben leans over and squeezes her hand. "Ready for guitar?" Mal asks Zach.

"Yeah," Zach responds carelessly, then looks over the top of his book at her. "Mom?" He calls, and Ben glances in the rearview mirror at him automatically to make sure that he's not about to ask another Maleficent question. Mal turns to show Zach that she heard and the book goes down a little more to reveal more of Zach's face, which Ben thinks looks more like Mal's and less like his every day. "I love you," he tells her.

A smile blooms across Mal's face. It's the same sort of thing that she used to do when he'd make her blush as teens. "I love you too, baby," she whispers.

Zach furrows his brow. "How come I get to be called baby and Tyler gets to be called Beastie?" He asks.

Mal laughs. "Well, when I first learned I was going to have a baby, I didn't know if you'd be a boy or a girl or what your name would be, so I just called you 'Baby'. And then you became Baby when you were born. But then Tyler came along and I had to come up with another nickname for him. I couldn't give him yours."

"I think you should come up with a new one, mom," Zach recommends. "I could be dragon. Or something else that's cool."

"Hmm," Mal makes a face as if she's considering it, but Ben knows she'll never change his nickname. Zach changed her life and he's always going to stay small enough to fit in her hands in her head. Even when he's fifty, he's always going to be her baby. "We'll see."

She turns to watch the road with him and he tangles their fingers together around the shift of the car as he drives. The radio plays softly and he can hear Zach turning pages, about one every twenty-eight seconds, in the back. Mal finally closes her eyes and leans her head back into the seat in this way that makes her seem young and careless and makes his heart start thudding in his chest. They're just turning into Zach's Guitar studio when they hear him unbuckle and lean up into the front with his index finger on a term he has a question on. "Mom, dad?" He calls.

"Hmm?" Mal asks, turning her head to listen to him.

"What's the Isle of the Lost?"

There's a beat of silence where Mal opens her eyes and stares at the page, uncomprehending. Ben barely has time to park the car before she's withdrawing into herself, clapping a hand over her mouth and leaning back into the seat with tears filling her eyes. Ben unclicks his seat belt, leans across Zach, and pulls her head against his chest before she can start crying. Ben gives Zach a shaky smile as Mal starts to gasp and shake into his shoulder. "I'll tell you later, bud. Have a nice time at guitar."


	3. Birthday

Later that same night, Ben and Mal go to sit on Zach's bed. He glances between them with a little fear in his eyes as they sit on either side of him. They already decided how this conversation should go, and exactly how they should filter things for their seven-year-old.

"You've been asking some very grown-up questions lately," Mal begins, leaning into the wall and inviting Zach to lean against her side. Ben stretches out, leaning on his elbows and running a comforting hand up and down Zach's spine. "Dad and I had to think about how we should answer you. I'm sorry I scared you today."

Zach doesn't respond. He just wraps his tiny arms around her midsection and cuddles into her further. Ben shifts his weight a little more towards the small child. "It's good to ask questions," He whispers. "We want you to feel like you can talk to us. We might not have the answers right away and sometimes things are harder for us to talk about, but we'll always try and help explain things."

Mal pulls Zach onto her lap and starts combing her fingertips through his hair, which matches Ben's straight down to the texture and style. She kisses his forehead and lets him hug her a little longer before she asks: "Why were you reading about Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Because," Zach starts in a little whisper. "I'm gonna be king one day and kings have to know a lot about where they live."

Mal pouts. "Baby, you're not gonna be king for a long, long time," she frowns. "Don't throw your childhood away. You can worry about the crown later."

"But that was very thoughtful of you," Ben butts in, raising an eyebrow at Mal. "You know that you could have asked us, right? We would have told you."

"But I like books," Zach reminds him, and Ben snorts.

"Okay, champ. Well, what questions do you have about your book?"

Zach leans towards his headboard, where sits the Auradon history book. He cracks it open and points to scribbles in the margins of the book. "Why was Grandma Maleficent in charge of the evil guys?" he asks.

Mal's lower lip wobbles. "Because she was the evilest of them all," She replies. "And she had magic, so she was very powerful."

"I think Judge Frollo was eviler," Zach mutters as he writes the answer in underneath the question. "He burned people inside houses."

Ben silently disagrees. The longer he's married to Mal, the more deserving he thinks her mother is of the title 'Mistress of all Evil'.

"Why were Grandma and Grandpa in charge of the good guys?" Zach asks, turning the page to show a photo of a mural of Belle in her yellow dress, dancing with the Beast.

"Because Grandma was very smart and knew how to get people to listen to her," Ben explains. "She wasn't as smart as you, though."

Zach mostly ignores the compliment as he flips a few pages forward to show them a map. "What's the Isle of the Lost?" He repeats, pointing to the dark scatters of shadowy cliffs and rocky beaches that make up the jagged place Mal used to call home.

Mal lets out a long, slow breath, and Ben realizes that she needs to do a lot more of this conversation than he originally anticipated. "The Isle of the Lost is where Grandpa lives. You've been there, remember? There's a big, long, white bridge? Dad and I put it up." She puts her finger down on the label on Zach's map. "But before Dad and Mom knew each other and before Grandpa Hades was allowed to come over here, it was a big jail for bad people. And I was born there, so I was trapped in with all the bad people."

"With Grandma?" Zach asks.

Mal nods. "Yes, I had to live with my mom just like you have to live with me. But my mom wasn't very nice to me."

"Were you abused?" Zach asks, innocently enough.

Ben's mouth drops open. "Where'd you learn about that?" He asks.

Zach points to his favorite book - his dictionary - and recites "Abuse; harmful treatment of a person or an animal."

Mal draws Zach's attention back to her using two fingers under his chin. "That's a hard question for Mom," she tells him. "Grandma wasn't very nice to me, but neither were a lot of people. Let's think of it like this, Zach. Let's say we have a friend who likes to hurt people. And they don't care if they get in trouble. So you send them away so they don't hurt anyone. Like a jail, right?" Zach nods along to her words. "Well, the Isle was where we sent everyone who wanted to hurt other people. But just because there wasn't anyone nice to hurt doesn't mean they stopped being mean. They just all hurt each other. My mom hurt my dad and my mom's friends hurt her and it was dangerous because it was like a game to some people. A game where they try to hurt you. And that's where Mom, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were born."

"So everyone wanted to hurt you?" Zach deadpans, looking extremely disappointed in the figurative friend Mal described. "Why didn't you leave?"

Mal hesitates. "Well... it was a prison for bad people. And Grandma and Grandpa thought that because our parents were bad, so were we. So we were trapped too."

Zach draws a fingertip down the spine of his book. "So you were trapped with lots of people who wanted to hurt you until Dad became King and said that you should come to see Auradon," he puzzled out.

"You've been reading ahead," Ben mumbled, staring at the book and spotting a bookmark near the end.

Zach nods and slumps into Mal's side. He rests a hand on her ribcage as he thinks about everything. "Mom?" He asks softly. "Were you evil?"

Mal looks like she's fighting back tears as she swallows and says: "A little, baby. Mom was a little evil."

"She wasn't evil," Ben disagrees. "She just didn't know what good was."

"Did you do bad things?" Zach asks.

It takes a long, long time for Mal to formulate an answer. Finally, she chooses the simple and truthful, "Yes."

"Why?" Zach frowns, sticking out his lip in a perfect pout that he inherited from her.

"Well, at first it was because people wanted to hurt me. Then it was all I knew how to do. And then it was because I wanted to show off and be mean. I wanted to be like everyone else." Mal does her best to explain, but she trips and fumbles up her words as she goes.

"What sort of bad things did you do?" Zach asks. Ben looks up to make sure she's holding herself together well enough to answer.

She kisses his head and combs his hair to the side. "I'll tell you that when you're a little older," She whispers. "And not before bed. I don't want to give you nightmares."

"Dad gets nightmares when she tells him things," Ben confides to his son. "And he's been listening for a long, long time."

"Does Mom get nightmares?" Zach asks. He looks up at Mal for an answer. Ben wishes there was an easy one. Not something that is like: "Every night, but sometimes more than others. Most of the time she can forget her own nightmares. Then other nights she wakes me up because she's holding onto me. And other nights she wakes herself up screaming and begging invisible monsters not to hurt her or me or you..."

"Sometimes," Mal whispers in the dark. "But I'm a big girl. I can deal with them."

Zach nods, gives her one last squeeze, and lies down. "I'm glad I live in a castle," he yawns, "And not in a prison."

Mal chuckles as she pulls the covers up around him and tucks him in. "Me too, baby," she whispers. "Goodnight."

* * *

Tyler turns six at the beginning of December and they celebrate by organizing a skating party with his friends from school along with a bunch of his cousins. Tyler blends right in with Evie's vibrant haired twins, and his spontaneity is only combated by Jay's two sons. Zach skates and then talks with the other parents and some of the older children for about two hours and then dozes off into his dad's side with a book.

On the way home with two little boys chattering in the backseat wildly, Ben takes a high overpass and they stop by a fast food joint for ice cream. The royal family crowds into a booth near a window and Mal barely manages to get Tyler's shoes off before he's off to play on the giant indoor jungle gym they have here. She sighs irritably, kicking his shoes under his chair, and puts her head down on the table. Ben laughs and rubs her back while Zach calmly removes his shoes and stows his book safety behind the salt and pepper in case ice cream happens to get on the table while they play. "Did you know that the first jungle gym was patented by Sebastian Hinton before Auradon was even formed?" He asks. "And that government regulation requires at least a foot of cushioning material underneath them?"

"I knew that," Ben nods. "Do you know why?"

"Because a fall from more than six feet can be lethal, especially if you're not landing on your feet," Zach replies.

"You can jump from higher if you don't lock up your joints and roll with the fall," Mal yawns noncommittally. "I once jumped from three stories up, had my fall broken by cardboard about halfway down, and rolled when I hit the ground. Didn't even bruise my ankle."

"That's dangerous, Mom," Zach deadpans. "Even a fall from ten feet can crush your spine. Gravity makes you accelerate to the ground at a rate of nine-point-eight-meters-per-second-squared. and you can't level out your acceleration at that point either, so you can't reach free fall."

Mal groans. "Well, I could tell you about the speed up thing you were talking about, but I don't know all the numbers."

"That's high school curriculum," Ben furrows his brow at Zach. "What have you been reading?"

Zach shrugs. "I found some big books in the back of the library. I don't like the one on chemistry, but the biology and physics ones are interesting. I also found some math books. Right now I'm reading about how they discovered the number for pi."

Ben drums his fingers on the table in thought and hums. "We need to go get you tested," He hums. "See what level you're at."

"According to the national standardizing system, I'm at an eleventh-grade reading level, a ninth-grade math level, a tenth-grade science, and a fourth-grade writing level. Also, I have lots of random knowledge," Zach informs them.

"I'd believe it," Mal sighs.

Ben snorts and nods towards the playground. "Go play, Zach. Keep your brother from beating anyone up for us, please?"

Zach nods and bounds off towards the structure. As he disappears into the towering plastic tubes, Mal says a little prayer of thanks that her son, despite how advanced he is, still finds joy in jungle gyms and recycled plastic forts. "Whose bright idea was it to have a son who's smarter than both of us?" She sighs.

"It's not that bad," Ben sighs, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her hair. "It's going to be interesting to see what he does."

He squeezes her body closer to him and Mal closes her eyes and groans again. "Now," she sighs, "If only Tyler could lose a little energy. Goodness, gracious."

Zach and Tyler come tumbling out of the slide together, laughing their heads off, and then take off towards the swings which hang under the fort and which you can swing back and forth on. Mal finds Ben's hand around her waist and squeezes it. "I like this," She whispers. "This is nice."

"It is," Ben agrees.

They stay for an hour or so. Long after the ice cream is finished and when Mal is half asleep, Ben finally calls them to get their shoes on. With flushed red faces and sweaty bodies, they clamber back out to their table where Ben and Mal start helping them get ready to go.

"It's really fun when we do things like this together, huh?" Ben asks as he helps Tyler slide his shoes onto his feet. "I like it when you guys play nice together."

"I like it when we fight," Tyler yawns, stretching his arms above his head.

Ben hides a smile as he finishes double-knotting Tyler's laces on one shoe and then glances at Zach. "Zach's been a really good older brother to you," he reminds Tyler. "Do you think you'd be a good older brother too?"

"No," Tyler frowns. He crosses his arms, daring Ben to refute his statement.

Zach pauses where he's been pulling on his coat and squints at Ben. Mal laughs - they look like twins when he does that. "Are you and mom having a baby?" He asks.

Zach's mouth falls open and his eyes grow wide in comic shock. Ben nods, trying to hold back a smirk, and pulls Zach towards him so he and Tyler stand side-by-side. "We're going to have another baby in our family in May," he announces slowly. "We don't know what it'll be yet, but we do know that Mom's going to be very tired until them, okay? So she might not be around as much."

"That's okay," Tyler straightens up. "So long as it's a boy and he doesn't get any of my toys. Also, if mom has to go to bed early, that's fine, but I think I should be allowed to stay up later while you tuck Zach in."

Ben hummed, sending a glance at his oldest as Zach rolls his eyes. The truth is that Zach is getting older now. Bedtime routines are shorter. He doesn't want them around when he's reading and he doesn't need lots of hugs or kisses before he goes to bed. Some nights he doesn't even wait for them in his room. He comes and waits in the living room, talks with them a little before bed, and then with a hug and kiss each walks himself off. His bedtime has, without Tyler's knowledge, been moved back. So long as he gets up on time, it'll stay that way.

Ben scoops up his youngest, soon-to-be middle child, into his arms and pokes his side where he's ticklish while Tyler writhes. Zach scoops up his book into his arms and then goes to Mal and holds out a hand to help her up. She chuckles a little at the help and then picks him up too. Zach, however, frowns and pushes her away a little. "Mom!" He whines. "I'm too big to be held! I wanna walk."

Tyler, upon hearing his older brother's words, starts beating his fists against Ben's shoulders. "Me too!" He exclaims. "I'm a big kid, dad! I can walk to the car by myself!"

"Race you there," Zach challenges, a competitive glint in his eyes that usually isn't there. Ben sets Tyler down and the purple-haired kid narrowly avoids running into the table in his haste to race his older brother. Both boys run out into the snow and begin fighting over the handles on the car.

Mal looks heartbroken. Her hands are miming the action of holding something, trying to understand when Zach became too big for her to carry. Sure, he's been getting heavier for the last few years, but now that he's told her, it's breaking her heart. Ben stares for a few seconds as he unlocks the car and the kids clamor in. Then he walks over and hugs her as she hides her face in his shoulder and calms back down. Before she can pull away to follow the children outside, he catches her face and whispers in her ear "Are you too big to be held?"

Mal gives him an odd look, and then he sweeps her off her feet. She yelps as he hooks an arm under her knees as she locks her hands around his neck. He carries her out past the other patrons, who are laughing, and into the car where the two kids are whining, begging for them to start the car. She laughs as the snow falls on their faces and when he sets her down on the hood, with the boys still complaining in the car, to kiss her, she responds with equal, almost childish vigor. Ben can't hear Zach and Tyler groaning and complaining in the car, but he sees them turn away, covering their eyes and pretending to barf, and can't stop the bubbling laugh that rises inside of him.


	4. Sneaking

On December twenty-third, Ben gets off work long past the boy's bedtime and finds his and Mal's rooms empty. He checks both of the boy's rooms since Mal is sometimes prone to go cuddle with one of them before bed. Both love physical affection, something they inherited from both of them. Zach and Tyler are both still up and reading and playing quietly in their rooms, which isn't a problem, but he still asks them to go to bed soon.

He's just texting Mal to ask where she's vanished off to when the door to their room flies open and she stumbles in, dropping plastic shopping bags to the ground and clutching her hair. She kicks the door closed and turns to fling her gloves and scarf to the ground with a feral scream.

He stays still and blinks several times before he dares to ask "What happened?"

Mal starts wiping frustrated tears out of her eyes as she collapses down onto the bed and tugs herself into his side, seeking immediate comfort. "I took the boys to Evie's today and they were so impressed with the way she decorated her kid's presents. She has pretty paper and fancy folds and the bows are all pretty and they said her house looks like a Christmas card. So I thought I should try and go the extra mile and make things look nice here too. And I was going to make a 3D paper dragon and a 3D paper beast like I used to do in High School to put on each of their presents."

She pauses here, wiping streams of tears away and takes a deep breath. "But I didn't have the right kind of paper, so I had to put the boys to bed early and Tyler fought me, and then I had to go out but my car is low on gas so I took yours and traffic was horrible and three stores didn't have the type of paper I needed so I went all the way out to Cinderellasburg-" She flings her hand outwards, presumably to indicate Cinderellasburg even though she's more closely gesturing to Arendelle on the opposite side. "And they didn't have the right size cut so I waited extra while they cut it and I was trying to get home so I pulled out too fast-"

"You were in a crash?" Ben panics, staring at her in shock.

"Just a small one," Mal frowns miserably. "But - you won't believe this - there was a Christmas Tree festival right next door and cameras out and when they heard the brakes screeching everyone turned around and-"

"You were caught on Live Television sliding into someone," Ben realizes, chuckling a little at her misfortune. "I'm sorry, Mal."

Mal sniffles. "And then traffic was horrible and I got here and realized I got the wrong shade of green," She finishes. "This green looks like a lime was sunburned and cried itself to sleep."

Ben hesitates. There're a couple of different ways he could go about comforting her, and he starts by giving her a long hug as she starts to calm down. "You know you don't have to make them dragons and beasts," he mumbles. "They're kids. They're just going to rip the paper off anyway."

"But I want them to look nice," Mal whines. "I want them to have nice presents and nice wrappings like Evie's kids do."

"They do look nice," Ben sighs. "You spent an entire night last week wrapping them." All of Zach's have the royal crest on them and are blue and gold and all of Tyler's are purple and green with stripes. "They're not going to love you any less for not doing origami on top of them, I swear."

"But I have to at least try!" Mal snaps, sitting up and pulling at her hair. "If they don't turn out okay and if I ruin them and if evil really can be inherited and if anything my mother said about me is true then the very least I can say when one of them tries to destroy Auradon is that I tried to be a good mom and I tried to teach them what they needed and I tried to wrap their presents nicely at Christmastime."

"You're not going to ruin them," Ben groans. They've had this conversation over and over throughout the years. She never can believe him. "And a Christmas present decoration isn't going to tip that scale."

Mal shakes her head still and refuses to look at him. Finally, Ben sighs. "I'm sure they'll love it," he says. "But will you have time to finish? Christmas is in two days and you still need to sleep."

"It shouldn't take me too long," Mal sighed. She puts her feet underneath her and wanders over to where she dropped her shopping bags. Ben follows her and helps her pick everything up and put it on their bed. As he leans over, he sees a bit of purple hair in the living room, just behind the couch. He whips his head around and it's gone, but Ben's been with Mal and her friends for too long to write it off as imagination. He drops everything on the bed and marches back into the living room while Mal starts opening things and muttering instructions to herself under her breath.

No one is in the living room, so Ben opens the door to the hall and finds both boys sitting against the wall, whispering. They both stop and look up sheepishly when he crosses his arms in disappointment. Tyler looks madder to be caught. Zach just looks embarrassed.

"Do I want the explanation?" Ben asks slowly. Tyler looks at him in confusion at the bigger word. Zach just looks at the ground.

"We wanted to see our presents," Zach admits, blowing his bangs out of his face. He needs a haircut. "We're sorry."

"Sorry that you found us," Tyler mutters. Ben snaps. He reaches down and seizes Tyler's hair and uses that to haul him to his feet. Then, he gets down on his knees and glares at him.

"Well, I'm sorry you're sneaking around and breaking rules and making it so Mom and Dad can't trust you," He snaps. Tyler flinches away with wide eyes. They don't generally get yelled at, these two. Tyler's a little wild, but Mal usually keeps a close enough eye on him that there isn't a lot of wrongdoing he can do. He's obviously taking advantage of her bad day and recent exhaustion. Zach has never really needed the supervision. It makes Ben wonder how his oldest got weaseled into this scheme.

Ben swats Tyler's butt and pushes him in the direction of his room. "Go to bed," He calls, using the scary authoritative tone that makes meeting rooms still and which is guaranteed to make the two kids quake. Tyler's face goes red and tears start running down his face as he balls up his fists and stomps away. He slams his door when he reaches it. It's a great sacrifice of pride for Ben not to pull him back and really lay into him for that attitude. Zach, the moment he hears Ben start to yell, jumps up and sprints in the direction of his room. Ben hears the door closing a little too hard but knows Zach isn't trying to throw a tantrum - he's just trying to escape.

Ben pokes his head back into the room. Mal is standing in the doorway of their room, looking regretful. She's probably heard him yell maybe three times before, and only once at her when she tried to use her spellbook on him after he'd caught her lying. He waves her concerns off and then shuts the door into the hall as he heads down towards the boy's room. In Tyler's room, he's flinging toys at the ground in anger with hot-headed tears running off his cheeks. Ben picks him up, puts him in his bed, and goes around picking up some of Tyler's favorite toys and action figures to take away for a little while. Tyler just buries his face in his pillow and screams. He's tried throwing temper tantrums before, but Mal will use magic if he starts screaming aloud. He's still very good at making it clear he's angry, but at least his mother has trained him well enough. Ben locks the door from the outside as he leaves. He'll have to remember to unlock it before he goes to bed so Tyler can still go down the hall to the restroom if he needs it.

In Zach's room, the lights are out and it is dark and Ben doesn't see his son sitting in the corner of the room until he hears the hiccups and sees the hall lights reflecting off crocodile tears. He sets Tyler's confiscated toys by the door and goes to sit against the wall beside Zach, who recoils. Ben holds out an arm and after a few long seconds of hesitation, Zach hesitantly rolls into his dad's side and takes hold of his shirt as he cries. "I'm sorry," he cries. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me."

"I am mad," Ben frowns. "You were sneaking around and you were eavesdropping on Mom and I. I trusted you to be better than that."

Zach begins sobbing. Ben's heart aches a little. He tugs Zach's chin up - he has a lot of Mal's features in his face -

and wipes his tears away. "Deep breaths," he whispers and Zach hiccups as he tries to calm down. "Now, Mom is working very hard on this Christmas for you two. I know it's hard to wait, but I need you to act maturely. You've got a big brain and you're very smart, so use it. Do you understand me?"

Zach nods furiously and then Ben pulls him in for another hug until Zach's breathing returns to normal against his chest. His son is about a third as tall as he is, he realizes. Maybe he's half of Mal's height too.

"Dad?" Zach whispers as he wipes the last of the tears away with the back of his sleeve, "What did Grandma tell Mom?"

The question catches him off guard. "What do you mean, champ?"

"Mom said 'if everything my mother said about me is true'," Zach quotes. "What did Grandma say to her?"

Ben sighs and rubs a hand up and down Zach's back. This is Mal's personal stuff he's digging into, and he doesn't want to go too deep. "Your Grandma," he sighs, tightening his grip around Zach's body, "Is as evil as they come. I don't like her at all. When Mom and I got married, her mom used to tell her that it wouldn't work out and that I was going to get bored with her. She said that I only wanted to marry someone from the Isle to look good and I picked her because she was very powerful on the Isle. And she said that if she and I had any kids together, then they'd be just as evil as she was because evil runs in her blood."

"Evil can't run in blood," Zach hiccups. "There isn't any genetic material for evil. All that's in blood are antigens and blood cells and plasma and nutrients."

"Well, you know that, and I know that, but she thinks otherwise," Ben sighs. "That's why Mom stopped talking to Grandma when she learned she was gonna be your mom. She didn't want to hear Grandma talk about you."

"Does Grandma know I'm here?" Zach asks, sitting up and then sliding to lean against the wall beside Ben.

Ben chuckles. "Well, I assume so, but we don't talk to her. You were kinda announced to the whole kingdom and there was a big coronation, remember?"

Zach nods even though logically there's no way he remembers that day. He has no clue about Mal's panic attacks and how she used to refuse to allow herself to be around Zach, sure that some evil that still resided on her would taint him. No idea how hard far she stretched herself to protect him from prying eyes, judging whispers, and a past that still follows in her shadow wherever she goes.

"Dad?" Zach asks, rubbing his eyes a little. He's gotten older and he now rubs his eyes the way Ben does - with his fingertips instead of his fists. "Is Grandma the reason Mom's so scared we'll grow up bad?"

Ben's hands still. His son is seven, still. How is he supposed to explain this to a seven-year-old? But, he figures, if Zach is able to ask the question, he's probably old enough to receive most of the answer. "Well, bud, that's a tough one," he sighs. "Give me a moment to think about how to respond."

Zach still sniffles every once in a while, but aside from that, everything is silent. Finally, Ben clears his throat. "Grandma... She wasn't a great mom. So, mom doesn't feel like she can be that great because she doesn't have a good example. She kinda just follows me and tries to not do what Grandma would do."

"What would Grandma do?" Zach mumbles.

Ben exhales. "Grandma... yelled a lot. She used to hit mom. Mom couldn't come home because she'd lock her out and sometimes she'd throw mom's stuff out in the street and she'd take money from other people who wanted to hurt mom."

"So she'd sell mom?" Zach asks softly. Ben can only nod.

"Yeah. She would." He pauses to think of other, specific things. "She used to tell mom that she wasn't good enough to be her daughter and that if she didn't do well enough then Grandma would just replace her with someone better."

"That's not how it works," Zach protests, sitting up. "What would have happened to mom? You can't just get rid of her."

Ben swallows. "Well, Zach, Grandma was talking about how she would kill mom. And she tried a couple of times."

Zach takes this ragged, hurt breath and Ben squeezes his small body. Partly to give him comfort, partly to comfort himself. "It's okay, though. Mom's tough. She took care of herself and now we don't talk to Grandma anymore."

"The Isle of the Lost sounds horrible," Zach hiccups and then slowly pushes away and sits up on his knees. "I'm sorry for sneaking. I thought mom had already wrapped the important things and so it wouldn't matter as bad."

"Well, you picked a bad day," Ben sighs, rubbing his eyebrows. "But it's okay. Just don't do it again."

Zach nods and gets to his feet before crouching down for one last hug. Ben watches his son go sit down on his bed and slowly gets to his feet himself. Zach pulls the covers up himself but doesn't protest when Ben fixes them even tighter around him and then kisses his hair before he leaves.


	5. Christmas

"Tyler," Ben calls, shaking his son's shoulder on Christmas morning. "Tyler, it's time to get up."

"No, it's not!" Tyler moans, pulling up his pillow and burying his purple hair underneath it. "It's never time to wake up. It's always time to sleep."

'Mood,' Ben agrees silently. "Alright," he sighs, standing back up. "I guess I'll have to tell Zach and Mom that they can split your presents because you don't want them." Immediately, Tyler flings the pillow, which is steaming a little, against the wall and jumps out of bed. He runs straight into Ben and then pushes his way through his legs to get to the door. Ben sighs in frustration but laughs at his antics nonetheless. He can hear Tyler hollering "It's Christmas!" Down the hall as he goes.

He follows his son to the Living Room and finds both anxious boys waiting beside the door he purposefully locked. He snorts as they bounce from one foot to the other and makes a big show of searching his pockets for the key. "I don't have it," He chuckles finally, and they both groan. Tyler jumps at him and shoves his tiny hand into Ben's pocket.

"Yes, you do!" He shouts. "You big, fat dragon-liar!"

"No, I don't," Ben laughs, backing up a little. "But, I bet that if you knock really, really softly, a fairy will hear you and open the door."

Immediately, both boys jump to the door. Tyler pounds on the door with hammering fists that rattle the hinges and Zach shoves his shoulder.

"No, Tyler!" Zach hisses. "Dad said softly!" He raises a tentative fist to the door and taps very, very softly against it. Immediately, the knob lights up green and clicks. Tyler twists it so hard Ben hears a pop that makes him wince, and then both boys poke their heads in and gasp in shock. Ben smiles.

Behind the door lies a paper winter wonderland. Hundreds of snowflakes that their family made yesterday spin on the ceiling, and presents are spread out among sparkly paper on the couches. Everything is separated into five sections. Zach's things cover one of the loveseats in shades of bright blue and with origami Beast's acting as an additional identifier. Tyler's are pushed a little bit more away from everyone else's and cover the floor behind the tree. Several long, purple and green dragons protect his horde. Ben and Mal's share the couch with modest white wrapping and beautiful, colorful bows on top. Then, in the center, there are some family gifts, most of which will be for the baby that will be here this time next year. The entire room smells like a pine forest and guitar music is playing in the background.

"Christmas!" Tyler shouts at the top of his lungs as Mal appears from behind the door, filming their reactions with her phone camera. He beats his chest with his fists and spins in a circle before thwacking against the couch and falling into a pile of sparkly white paper that Mal set out to resemble snow. Zach stares, openmouthed, at everything before he turns to Mal with an astonished look.

"You did all of this?" He gasps.

Mal looks surprised at his reaction. She nods, wiping the last remnants of her stress out of her eyes. "Yes, baby, Dad and I did this."

"Well, mostly mom," Ben argues. "I helped with her one-thousand snowflakes." He bats at one with an annoyed look. "And she wouldn't even use magic," He finishes with a sour look directed at his wife's camera.

"Thank you!" Zach exclaims, tripping over another wayward pile of paper snow as he rushes to hug her. He buries his face in her midsection when he reaches her and Mal almost drops her phone as she tries to return his hug. She looks absolutely relieved.

Tyler dashes into his pile of presents and lets out a dramatic shout. "We have dragons!" He yells, tugging one of the origami dragon present decorations off of his gifts and putting it on his head. He starts to run around the room, very narrowly avoiding running into Ben, with the dragon's long body flicking up and down with the wind as he goes.

"Dragons?" Zach asks, letting go of Mal and then running to lean over the back of the couch with his presents. He shouts in triumph. "Ha! You have dragons. I have Beasts!" He carefully pulls two up, makes them face each other, and then lets out a vicious roar that makes all of Ben's hairs stand on end. Mal stares in shock until Zach starts giggling and pulling off all of the other origami action figures.

"Dragons have better growls!" Tyler declares, rushing by Zach with his dragon flapping behind him. "Roooaar!" He bellows and jumps onto the empty armchair. However, his growl is more tame, not like Zach's animalistic one. It does have the hints of something demonic behind it, which he probably inherited from Hades and his godly roots but is overall a childish impression that makes Ben laugh as he goes to Mal's side and wraps his arm around her.

"I told you they'd love it," He whispers.

"Shh," Mal whispers with a smile as she leans into his frame, holding both hands to her belly. "I'm allowed to worry."

Tyler pulls off another origami dragon, rumpling the tail a little as he does, and then attaches both to his arms with the tape before stretching out his arms, airplane-style, and continuing his dash around the room. Meanwhile, Zach lines up his Beasts from largest to smallest in pride and then glances over his shoulder to where Ben and Mal are standing, waiting.

"Be right back," Ben whispers and then slips back into the hall. Mal goes to sit in the armchair and watches Zach leave to go pull his and her stockings off the wall. He puts his with his things and then hers with hers, and then he brings back Ben's and the baby's, which is lighter than everyone else's. The baby's he puts at Mal's feet before sitting cross-legged in front of the stuffed loveseat and reaching into his stocking to glance over his new things. A collection of chocolates and candies fall into his lap along with a new toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, and then a breakfast of bananas and tiny oranges. He happily pulls on a new pair of thick socks with the Beast Crest knit into them and then begins to carefully peel his oranges and eat them slice by slice while Tyler dashes around the room. He doesn't bring Tyler's stocking over - probably to punish him for all the extra noise he's making.

Tyler finally collapses with a sigh over Mal's lap, and she chuckles as she runs her fingers through his sweaty hair. He pokes at the stocking by her feet. "Is this mine?" He asks loudly.

"No, Beastie," Mal replies. "That's for Fae. We needed some things to start with her room."

"Fae?" Zach's shoulders slump as he stares up at her. "He's Beastie, they're Fae, and I get baby?"

Mal sighs. "I like your nickname," she tells Zach, leaning over to ruffle his hair as he wrinkles his nose at the contact. "And you know what, no matter where you go and how old you get, you're always going to be my first baby. That's not gonna change."

Zach sinks into the loveseat with a little groan before the door opens again. Tyler is filtering around in the baby's stocking, looking for candies. "There's nothing good in here!" He complains. "It's all binkies and funny rags and socks."

"You have socks and candies and breakfast in your stocking," Mal explains as Ben comes into view behind the loveseat. "I bet that if you ask Zach or Dad really nicely, they'll help you lift it down."

"My hands are full," Ben hums as he puts a mug of hot chocolate down beside Tyler and then another on the table for Tyler. "Zach, can you help Tyler get his stocking down?"

Zach sighs, walks to the wall, and pulls Tyler's black and red stocking down. "Here, Tyler," He says, putting it beside the table. Tyler clambers off of Mal's legs and takes a seat criss-cross-applesauce with his back to the table. He upends his stocking in between his legs and then begins sorting things to find his favorite chocolate bars.

"Thanks, Zach," He mumbles as he unwraps a chocolate cookie bar, dips it in his hot chocolate, and then begins to chew.

Mal sighs. "Beastie, don't forget to eat your breakfast," She reprimands. Ben puts a hand on her shoulder and presses a mug of steaming hot chocolate into her hands, taking care to squeeze her fingers before withdrawing to sit on the arm of the loveseat. Mal smiles at him before closing her eyes and sipping her drink.

Ben claps his hands together. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but there's nowhere to sit in here. We need to start going through these presents so we don't have to sit on the floor!"

"Or Mom could move," Tyler hums. "But let's do presents instead. Presents are better than breakfast anyway."

"Finish your banana," Mal commands, raising an eyebrow. "Zach is already almost done with his breakfast." She nods towards Zach, who doesn't look up as he pulls a segment of orange apart and squints at the tiny segments inside.

Tyler picks at the top of his banana and then slowly figures out a way to break into it. As mushy banana bits find their way to stick to his chin, he yanks the plastic bit out of his new socks and puts them on his feet before sticking them in the air to show Mal wordlessly.

Ben stands up and brings over his and Mal's stockings so that they can both locate their own breakfasts. Ben has muffins wrapped in crinkly plastic, and Mal has an abundance of strawberries and grapes. Tyler whines when he sees her strawberries. "Can I have some?" He begs, pulling on her pajama leg.

"You can after your breakfast is done," Mal bribes him. "And after we clean your face off."

They slowly make their way towards unwrapping things. Mal struggles to wipe off Tyler's face as he squirms while Zach waits patiently, tapping his fingers on the first present, which is heavy and has the lines that a hardcover book makes in the side of the paper. When Mal finally releases, Tyler, he practically explodes into his pile while Zach finally slides a golden letter opener under the line of paper.

"Clothes!" Tyler explodes, collapsing against the couch in disappointment. "My first present is clothes?"

Mal only rolls her eyes as Zach carefully puts his wrapping paper behind the couch and holds up his book to show them both with a small smile. "I got the book I wanted!" He exclaims softly.

Mal raises her eyes at the unfamiliar cover and then glances up at Ben. "Is that one from dad?" She asks softly.

"Yeah," Ben affirms. "Now, that book's a really high level, Zach. So if you need any help with it, let us know."

The cover of the book reads "Thompsen's Microbiology and Scientific Metaphysics - fourth edition".

"A textbook?" Mal whispers in confusion.

Ben nods. "He read the first few pages of it when a college student left it at a table," He whispers as Zach puts his book safely underneath the couch, where no hot chocolate spills can reach it, and then begins to look through his other gifts.

Mal can't help but feel like she missed a beat when she compares the things she got for Zach versus the things Ben got for Zach. There's a variety of other books on subjects she can't even begin to understand, among them "ASAP AP Biology", "Cryptological Mathematics", "Big Ideas Math", "Unsolvable Mysteries of the Universe", "Introduction to Biochemistry," "Understanding Psychology", and "Social Problems in Auradon - second edition." He's also got a planner, which she has a vague idea of how to use, two section-divided notebooks and fancy pens, and stickers with things like "Additional Information" or "Sources" on them. Meanwhile, she's given him a variety of clothes, a weighted blanket, a beanbag chair, and then a bookcase. There isn't much difference in how much Zach likes his presents between them, but she can feel the directional differences between her and Ben's methods palpably.

Tyler rips the paper off of his things so quickly that Mal barely has time to get photos in between, and then he gathers everything up on his own beanbag chair and munches on his chocolate while beginning a large Lego Block Kit on his stomach on the floor. The boys are both quiet then, as Zach collapses into his new chair and starts examining his microbiology textbook. Ben reaches over to the couch and hands things to Mal for her to unwrap. "I'm not sure he'll be able to read all those," he whispers in her ear in concern as they watch Zach flip a page and circle something inside the book. "They might be too hard for him."

Mal swallows and draws the tape back on her gift. She tries to ignore the fear twisting in her stomach. Part of her agrees with Ben. Metaphysics isn't exactly a third-grade subject, and Zach is turning eight next summer. He'd only be in the second grade if he was enrolled. There's no way he should be able to read anything in there. But the other, devilish part of her whispers: "What if he can read them? What if he is that advanced? What then?"

When the paper is all cleared away and everything wrapped has been uncovered and discovered, then Ben clears his throat and both boys look up. "Zach, we have one more thing that Mom and I have decided to give you." He puts his hand over Mal's as she takes a little breath. "But this comes with a lot of responsibility and there's going to be lots of rules attached."

Zach closes his book. "Yeah?" He asks, perking up a little in anticipation. Ben lifts the pillow on the couch and reveals a small box, about the size of Ben's palm, hidden there. Zach stands up, takes the gift, and then with one glance towards his parents, slowly unwraps it. Tyler leans forward in excitement, making wild guesses.

"Is it chocolate?" He demands as Zach rips a corner back. "Or is it a game? Or another book?"

But Zach pulls the paper back to reveal a slick white case, and his mouth drops open in comic shock. His eyes are wide and his cheeks flushed as he turns around a box with a photo of a phone on it. Tyler howls when he recognizes it. "No fair!" He says. "I want one!"

"When you're older," Ben shakes his head. Mal pulls the sulking child into her arms as Zach looks back down at the box in shock.

"Now, this is a tool," Ben explains, leaning forward as Zach slowly lifts the top and pulls out a blue-backed smartphone. "Mom and I know that you like to hang out in the library and wait for us, and we also know that you're reading a lot of advanced stuff and you won't always understand it. This is to help you find more information and also get in contact with Mom and Dad. We're going to put filters on what you can search though, and you have to leave it in our room at night, and we're going to search it, but this is yours."

"You can order your phone case," Mal mumbles. "Find a design you like and if you need help, let us know."

"This is so cool!" Zach exclaims, reveling in the thrill. He throws himself forward into Ben, and then into Mal. Tyler whines as he's squished in between his mom and older brother. Zach ignores him long enough to kiss Mal on the cheek.

"Go grab my laptop from my office," Ben suggests, "And I'll help you set up your phone and put music and games on it. Okay?"

Zach scrambles off, accidentally slamming the door to the hall in his excitement, and vanishes. Tyler groans from where he drapes himself over Mal's lap. "How come he gets a phone?" He moans. "He's not that much older. Can I have one next year?"

'Absolutely not,' Mal thinks. She already feels guilty giving one seven-year-old a cell phone despite his maturity and intelligence. "When you're ready for it, we'll give you one," she promises Tyler, kissing his forehead. "Zach is a lot older mentally. He's responsible enough for it. When you can remember to brush your teeth by yourself and you don't throw fits and you can clean up after yourself, we'll consider it."

Tyler whines and rolls off of her lap, thudding to the floor. Ben rolls his eyes as his youngest whines into the carpet. "You're really convincing us," He sighs, and then picks Mal up off the armchair to pull onto his lap. Mal curls into him for a second then opens her eyes and reaches for Zach's textbook. She opens it to the page he left it one and sees three six-syllable words circled with question marks beside them. Everything else, it seems, is clear.

Ben hums. "He must be a little further ahead than we thought," he mutters.

Mal feels like she might be sick. She's always known her baby was smart, but she skims the page and feels a headache coming on, she realizes just how far ahead. Her baby boy is officially smarter than her, and she wonders just how much time she has left before he realizes she's a complete idiot.


	6. Campus

In January, people who know Zach see him with his new books and start throwing around the 'C' word. "He's so smart!" someone in the courts says while staying in the palace for the new year policy turnover and the subsequent overview of the previous year's records. "Are you going to send him to college before he becomes king?"

Other people make passing comments when they see him marking his textbooks up and scribbling little notes in his notepads. "Ben never went to college before he was crowned, did he?" "He's probably smart enough for university now." "What's he planning on studying?"

"He's not going," Mal shakes her head with anxiety clouding her soul. "He's not even eight yet. Not for another few years."

But the kicker is when the talk starts to get back to Ben. Because she can tell everyone in the courts that Zach isn't ready for college, but it's a mite bit harder to tell her husband, who knows their son quite well, the same thing."

"I think we need to get Zach tested to see what level he's on," Ben announces when she drops into bed and buries her face into her pillow. She can feel his eyebrows rise when she lets out a dissonant growl into the cushion. "Do you have an issue with that?"

"Depends," Mal sighs, rolling onto her side. "What's your reasoning?"

"I'm wondering if it might be beneficial to send him to school," Ben hums, reaching over to run his fingers through her hair. "He's smart. With a bit of training, he could be a certifiable genius."

It must be the hormones that make Mal immediately break down. "No," she moans, hiding her face away as her mascara clumps and then sticks to her face. "No, no, no. Ben, please don't do this to me. I'm not even forty - he's too little for college!"

"There are kids who go before they're eighteen," Ben frowns, picking her up and hugging her. "Why are you so afraid of it?"

"He's too smart," Mal sobs, still hiding her face. "Ben, he's entirely from your side of the family and it's only a matter of time before he realizes I have no idea what he's saying half the time and I - I don't want him to grow up and leave me!"

"Mal, he's not going to leave you. Just calm down," He pulls her hands away so he can wipe at her tears. "Listen, he's always gonna be around. He's going to be king when he's older. And you're always going to be his mom and he's always going to love you. He's not going to leave you behind just because he's smart. Do you realize he's smarter than me too? He came to ask me about electro-neogenesis and I didn't know and so he just shrugged it off and understood it wasn't something I had learned. He's not going to look down on you because you haven't learned certain things."

This is true, but Mal understands that Ben's wealth of knowledge is far greater than hers, and so if Zach's already more knowledgeable than Ben, her knowledge is probably insignificant. How did such a brilliant child come from her?

"I left my mother," She whispers. "I left when I went to school and when I learned about Auradon and met you. He could leave me. He could leave us."

"That's different," Ben replies flatly. "You recognized that your mother was abusive. And you still talked to her for years and years. The reason you stopped was because you got sick of her trying to hurt you. We are not abusive to Zach. He's not going to break things off with us."

"But what if he does?" Mal asks in despair.

"I didn't leave my parents," Ben points out. "We still see them every day."

"But what if he does?" Mal repeats, stressing every word.

"Fear of him leaving is a selfish reason not to help him succeed," Ben pinches his lips together and gives her a stern look.

Mal collapses into him. He rubs her back while she cries. It's a low blow, he knows, to point out a villainous characteristic in her, but he needs her to think about what's best for Zach right now. And now, hopefully, she'll come around.

On Valentine's day, Hades volunteers to watch the boys so that they can go out to dinner. It's a little odd - Mal's more heavily pregnant now, and they haven't gone out in a long while, and it's strange to not be with the boys for bedtime. Zach seems nonchalant about them leaving, but he doesn't exactly have them put him to bed every night anymore. Tyler is beyond excited when his blue-haired grandfather comes through the door and spends about ten minutes while Ben finishes getting ready wrestling with him, but when he finally figures out that Mom and Dad won't be back in time for bedtime, he's astonished. Still, he shakily agrees that all will be okay.

Ben's razor needs to be replaced, which is why it's taking him so long to get ready. Mal waits, watching Zach read and Tyler play with Hades, while Ben combs his hair and applies deodorant and grabs keys, wallet, everything he needs. And while she waits, she slowly starts peeling things off. First her gloves and then her scarf and heeled boots. Then her purse is flung onto the table and her hat set beside it. Tyler turns on the new electric fireplace to show Hades, and that's when Mal starts unbuttoning her overcoat to drop it on the cushion beside her. She's wearing a black dress with a low v-neck that's sleeveless. It still looks rather flattering despite her untrimmed figure.

None of the other room's occupants bat an eye as she leans back with more skin showing than she usually allows, and Zach doesn't even notice as he circles a phrase about centrifuges. His cell phone sits beside him along with his dictionary, which is used less now that many of Zach's unknown words extend outside the realms of common usage but is still valuable.

"Mal?" Ben appears from the bedroom, rushing to grab his coat on the wall, "Do you know where my cell phone is?"

"I think you left it on the table over there," Mal leans forwards and twists around to see it from where she sits on the couch, and Tyler lets out a horrified gasp.

"Mommy!" He wheezes as his arms still around Hades's neck, "Why do you have so many owwies?"

Ben stumbles while pulling his shoe on and knocks his elbow into the wall. Hades looks up, glances over his daughter's back, and his mouth drops open. Mal's face flushes deep red as she leans back into the couch, hiding the white marks across her back from view. In the end, it's Zach who speaks up. "They're from Grandma, Tyler," He says without looking up. "They're scars - they occur when the dermis layer of your skin is damaged."

"What?" Mal asks as she reaches for her coat and pulls it back on.

"The dermis?" Zach looks up. "It's the deepest of three main layers of-"

"Sweetheart, how do you know about Mom's scars?" Mal interrupts his explanation. She shoves the coat over her shoulders with a deep frown and buttons it back up. Ben winces from the side of the room.

"I just guessed," Zach shrugs. "Because Grandma used to hit you."

"Hit you?" Hades repeats softly, and Mal glances back and forth between the two boys.

"Who told you that, Zach?" She demands.

Ben takes in a hissing breath. "Mal, that was me," He calls. "He heard you talking about Maleficent and asked me about her. I watered things down, but..."

Zach furrows his brow then. "You lied?" He asks.

"No," Ben shakes his head. "No. I just didn't tell you everything because that's Mom's business and because I don't think you'd like to hear." He glances to the side at Mal. "Sorry," he mutters.

Hades stands up, shrugging off Tyler, and stares at Mal's coat as if he can see through it. "Those were some long hit marks!" Tyler exclaims with wide eyes. "When I hit my hip against my desk, it only made a dark mark. Not a white one. And mine was only this big." He peers through a hole in his hands to accentuate his point.

"They're not hit marks, Beastie," Mal admits, picking up her scarf and avoiding eye contact with her father. "Mom just has lots of old cuts on her back."

"Cuts?" Zach asks.

"Cuts?" Hades echoes sadly.

"Ben, are you ready to go?" Mal asks through clenched teeth.

Ben nods, still looking guilty, and pulls on his second shoe. He retrieves his phone and then picks up Tyler to hug him goodbye. Tyler squeezes him and points at Mal over his back. "I want lots of cool marks like Mom!" He exclaims. "She looks like a warrior!"

Ben and Mal both wince, and Zach sets aside his book, looking very sad. As he's gotten older, he's gotten better and better at reading social cues, and he knows that whatever he just said, he's made a bad situation worse. He hugs Ben around his neck and then twiddles his thumbs as Mal pulls on her gloves and shoes and picks up her bag before giving her his second hug.

"Be good," Ben instructs the boys. "Mom and I will be back before morning. If you misbehave, Grandpa has permission to send the furies after you."

"That's right," Hades agrees weakly. "You don't want to meet them, huh?"

"I could take fury!" Tyler beats the air with tiny fists. "Bring it on!" But then Ben and Mal step towards the door, and he drops his act. "Wait! Mom! Dad!" Tears start leaking down his cheeks, and Hades has to grab him before he follows them or lights anything on fire. Whichever comes first.

Mal doesn't speak all the way down to the car.

Mal knows she's doomed to being a college mom before forty the moment Ben helps Zach out of the car in March. They're not enrolling him(yet), or letting him look at any of the extracurriculars(yet), or even talking about sending him here(yet). They're only there to talk to the dean of admissions, who wants to talk to Zach and get an idea of where he's standing with his education.

Zach looks around with wide, amazed eyes. Everyone is taller than him and carrying backpacks and stacks of papers and clipboards and cellphones. In his arms in his prized dictionary, his lucky blue pencil, and a little notepad Ben let him take from his desk for the day. "This place is so cool!" He says, craning his head to peer underneath Ben's arm at a large cast-iron statue of someone important who Mal doesn't recognize. "Dad, did you go to school here?"

"Nope," Ben replies, putting a guiding hand to the back of Zach's neck and navigating him around a couple of teenaged girls who are chatting on the edge of the sidewalk about how class was. One girl with long, brown hair smiles at Zach and waves at him before gesturing back down to her friends at an assignment she has open on her phone. "I went to Auradon Prep and then became king. There wasn't enough time for me to go to school. But since you're not on grade level, Mom and I thought we'd get you tested here to figure out when you might like to come."

"I like it here," Zach confides in them, leaning forward to see what's to see up ahead. Mal's toes curl into her shoes. Couples are making out and walking around with their hands in each other's back pockets. There are boys wrestling and girls putting on makeup and people she can't tell are boys or girls and shadowy, pale-skinned creatures who bob their heads to deathly tunes. There are things she doesn't want Zach copying yet.

Ben still plays the part of a king as they go. He knocks knuckles with people who recognize him and wave to people on the benches and moves a little slower on instinct if someone holds a camera up. They don't have any security around as people point phones at her and Zach either. Usually, if Mal is around, she's considered protection enough. Perks of being from the Isle of the Lost, but right now, Mal could do with some sort of guard to protect her baby from all the people here.

Ben opens the door to the main building and then finds a secretary who takes them back through several narrow, tan-carpeted hallways before the family pauses outside a grey door. Ben steps back and indicates Zach can knock. Zach wastes no time in stepping up and rapping his knuckles against the metal door A balding man with a bright smile opens it. He isn't surprised to see the royal family, sans Tyler, in the hall. He welcomes them all in, shaking their hands, and offers them all the seats in his office. There's only two, but he takes the cushioned, wheeled chair from behind his desk and offers it to Mal, insisting that he was planning on walking around a lot anyways.

"Well, Prince Zach, it's lovely to meet you," He starts, and Mal is thrown off-guard by her son's title. All the people who know him don't ever use it. Even in the courts, he's 'the prince' or 'Zach', sometimes with adjectives like 'little' or 'smart' thrown in front of his name. He's more commonly referred to as 'Ben's son' than 'Prince Zach', which has always irked Mal a little because Tyler has been described the opposite from the beginning. 'Mal's son', they refer to him, even though both children come from her and Ben. And Tyler looks like Ben has dyed his hair and taken on a new attitude... Zach has her face all mixed'n'mashed with Ben's. Ben's comment from day one has been about how everything from Zach's cheeks down is like someone copy and pasted her facial features onto his. His lips have gotten a little thinner over the years, but still!

"I've always heard you're the palace's little genius," the dean of admissions continues, "and I'm very excited to see how much you know today. You can call me Mr. Jensen."

"I know a Jenson," Zach whispers as he leans forward and shakes Mr. Jensen's hand. Ben's mannerisms. "Are you going to test me?"

"I will in a moment," Mr. Jensen replies. "You're going to take parts of four tests that we've combined into one for people like you. It'll go over English... math... science... and you'll be asked to write a little too. There's part of an International Bachelorette test, an Advanced Placement exam, an Auradon College Testing exam, and then a Scholastic Aptitude test. For the writing part, we're going to have you respond to two simple prompts from this school's admission essays."

"Can I see the prompts?" Zach asks, looking down to list the four tests on his notepad. Mr. Jensen chuckles.

"I have them here," he says, picking up a paper from his desk. He clears his throat and then begins to read aloud. "Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. And then the second is to describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?"

Mr. Jensen then looks over the tops of his glasses at Zach. "I have some alternates if you'd like them, but many of them are about problems you've faced before. We figured that these would interest you more and that you would have more to say on them."

Zach nods in understanding and doesn't ask to see the additional prompts. He continues scribbling on his little notepad while Mr. Jensen replaces the prompts in a little white folder that Mal assumes is for Zach. "When do I have to start?" He asks when he finishes writing.

Mr. Jensen pulls two forms from his desk and two clipboards from where they are stuck in a bookcase. "Unfortunately, Zach, we have to wait just a moment. Mom and Dad have to agree to let you take everything on the test. If there's something that they don't want you to test on, we might have to come up with an alternative."

Mal feels like both a powerful overseer and a lurking villain as she takes the clipboard from the aged Dean. She could always shake her head and say she doesn't feel comfortable with him taking such an advanced exam, but then she'd crush her little baby. She listens to Ben tap his pen against the clipboard as he thinks and tries to focus. She skims past the purpose and the procedure, then closely examines the risks, which have several bullet points she doesn't immediately like. "Your child will be tested on medical conditions and procedures including but not limited to cancer, chemotherapy, AIDS, Herpes, and HIV. Please notify the test administrator if you do not wish your child to respond to these questions." "Your child will be asked to respond to questions regarding reproduction in both humans, animals, and plants. Please notify the test administrator is you do not wish your child to respond to these questions." "Your child will be asked historical-based questions regarding race, class, war, gender differences, and major political events." Beside the last point, several scribbled notes have been added. "Formation of Auradon, Reign of Villainy, Isle of the Lost."

Mal opens her mouth about the same time Ben does. "Can we see these questions?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

Mr. Jensen nods and then pulls a large testing booklet out of Zach's folder. He flips through it for a moment, then hands it to Ben and Mal, pointing to a collection of questions. Mal's head starts to pound. She glances at Ben, and he nods in affirmation before Mr. Jensen flips the page a few times. Mal glimpses a collection of Punnett Squares, which she remembers how to use, and some related questions on blood type and sex-linked diseases. Those are okay.

Mr. Jensen flips to the very back of the booklet and then backs off as they skim the questions. Mal sees questions regarding Belle and Adam's decisions to make the Isle, and then a few questions about what year the throne was passed on and what King Ben's first proclamation was about, and then a couple regarding the fall of the barrier and the effects of reopening Auradon. Most of the questions are pre-Auradon, though. Things about Kingdom revolts and different trends in different places and major discoveries 9and events.

"Those are all okay," Ben nods, sitting back and continuing reading the form. "He knows all of those."

"He does?" Mal asks, blinking a little.

"Yeah," Ben nods. "Well, not all of the medical conditions, but he's got the theories behind them. He'll be fine."

"He knows about Aids?" Mal feels her shoulders roll forward. "And Herpes?"

"He knows about pathogens and Helper T cells and how pathogens can lie dormant inside of your body," Ben replies, continuing to skim. "That's what they're asking about. The diseases themselves are just examples." He pauses, then looks up. "Pathogens are just viruses or bacteria. And Helper T cells mark them so your body can destroy them."

Mr. Jensen snorts a little as Ben defines the words for her. Mal feels her cheeks grow hot. Zach slumps back into his chair a little with a sigh. "Can I have a book?" He asks, eyeing the bookcase behind Mr. Jensen's desk.

"We're almost done, champ," Ben hums as he signs his name off on the consent line and dates it. He glances at Mal, who looks back down with a swallow. She reads through the confidentiality statement and then glances at the time duration.

"Four hours?" Mal asks, looking back up. "Four hours straight?"

"He'll take a half-hour break after the first two sections or at the one-and-a-half-hour mark," Mr. Jensen explains. "And he's allowed, because of his age, to go get water or use the restroom at any time. I'll provide a few snacks as we go too." He pulls from behind his desk a large plastic tub with graham crackers, juice boxes, fruit snacks, peanuts, and tiny oranges. Zach's eyes light up. "If he finishes early, then I'll call you and let you know."

"Do you want us to stick around and wait for him?" Ben asks, handing the form and the clipboard back to Mr. Jensen.

"Most participants test better without the pressure," Mr. Jensen shakes his head. "I'd suggest going out and finding something to entertain yourselves with while you wait without going too far."

Mal signs off her name and hands the clipboard to Mr. Jensen. He takes it with a nod and then turns to Zach, gesturing around the room. "Is this a good place for you to take a test?" He asks. "Or would it be easier for you in a classroom?"

"I don't know," Zach shrugs. "I've never taken a test before."

"Let's take it in the classroom then, so you can get used to it," Mr. Jensen decides. He opens a side door and Zach gets off his chair to follow him into a large room with many wooden desks lined up in a semi-circle with seven rows. "Pick anywhere you like," Mr. Jensen tells him, and then brings the tub of snacks in too. Ben and Mal hover in the doorway to watch Zach go to the left side of the front row and sit down to wait.

"You aren't allowed to talk to me at all during the test unless there's a problem with the papers," Mr. Jensen begins to explain. "These questions are all different levels from lots of different areas, so it's okay if you don't know them all. It's better to skip questions you don't know and come back to them later. One strategy a lot of students use is to pick a letter - A, B, C, or D - and then go back and fill in all the questions for that letter if they run out of time."

"Use B," Mal calls from the doorway, interrupting Mr. Jensen's spiel. She remembers that strategy from high school. Mr. Jensen laughs with a nod.

"I can show you where the restroom is when you need it. Please fill in the bubble on the sheet all the way so that the computer can grade it and we can tell you in two days what level you're on. Someone else will have to read the writing portion and tell us about it. Any questions?" Mr. Jensen crosses his arms as Zach thinks for a moment and then shakes his head. Mr. Jensen holds out his hand. "I'll have to take that dictionary away from you, son," He says. "You're not allowed to have it until the end of the test. Do you have a phone?"

"Not here," Zach pouts as he hands the dictionary over. "Please take care of it. It's important."

Mr. Jensen nods and then sets the dictionary down at the lecturer's desk at the front of the room, giving it a little pet to accentuate how it is safe. Then he looks back up at them. "You can leave whenever," he calls. "Just let yourselves out."

"Be good, Zach!" Ben calls, waving at their son. Zach waves back with a little smile, and then they step out of the room and leave the office into the hallway. Ben puts an arm around Mal's shoulders as she sighs. "He'll be okay," he assures her.

They wander out onto campus and through people and end up in a cafe somewhere while Ben checks through his emails and Mal drums her fingers anxiously, peering between her cellphone and a bell tower that rises above the main building on campus. Ben orders them lunch - sandwiches and shakes and cake for dessert - and then has to step outside to call one of his advisors about a file that was sent out incorrectly.

A song Mal has heard before starts on the cafe radio. It's very fast and catchy. She taps her foot along and then the baby kicks against her ribs in a sharp motion that has her wincing and grabbing her side to rub the hurt area.

Ben finally returns and puts his phone down with a sigh. "Sorry," he mumbles and then picks up a sandwich.

Mal shrugs. "Work has to get done," she sighs. The baby kicks again, making Mal groan. "Stop kicking me," she pokes her belly back.

"They like music," Ben chuckles across the table as his phone buzzes and he flips it back over with a sigh.

"What?" Mal raises her eyebrows and Ben looks back up, a little unfocused as he tries to remember what he'd said. Finally, it comes back to him.

"Oh, you always complain about them kicking when music is playing. I think we have a dancer on our hands."

Mal pinches her lips together as Ben goes back to his phone. "I hadn't realized," she mutters under her breath. Ben snorts and picks up her hand across the table. She squeezes his fingers as he finishes skimming the text and then flips the screen back over to gaze into her eyes.

"One genius, one dragon, and one dancer," he whispers.

"Tyler dances," Mal reminds him. "He was asking me if he could try singing too. So maybe we'll have a performer."

Ben snorts, squeezing her hand even tighter. "You're a great mom," he whispers. "I'm glad I picked you."

Mal blushes a little. "I'm just glad that I turned out okay. I honestly was afraid I'd lose control and hit them or scream from time to time."

"No, that's me," Ben rolls his eyes. "But it's okay. We're both doing well. Everything will be okay."

Mal nods in agreement, though her mind jumps back to that classroom where Zach may or may not be struggling with his test.

Four hours later, they pick him back up. His face is red with barely-contained frustration and his pockets are stuffed full of gummy bears and fruit snacks. Mr. Jensen looks amused as he files Zach's responses for someone to read and grade. "He did well," he explains. "But his knowledge isn't un-emcompassable - he was very frustrated with not knowing enough about definitions or terms to answer a question even if he knew the theory behind it." It turns out that Zach had actually needed the full four hours, and he still ended up filling in a lot of 'IDK Letter B's'. He practically seethes as they walk back down to where they parked the car and get in to go to the palace. Ma isn't surprised when he begins to complain as soon as all the doors are shut.

"I didn't know what the options were for the cancer questions, so I had to guess!" He says, crossing his arms and stomping his feet into the floor of the backseat. "And I didn't know any animal hormones or about the endocrine systems, and I didn't know what the Hilbert problems were and two of the English problems asked the same thing and I couldn't answer because they both used the word chimerical." He flips through his returned dictionary while Ben pinches his lips together in amusement. Mal, too, finds it funny that he's so riled up about not knowing things, but she understands. After all, she just spent four hours worrying about exactly how much he does know compared to her.


	7. Pillow

Mr. Jensen brings Zach's reports up to the palace personally two days later. Zach is in the library when he comes, so Ben and Mal decide to get the rundown first and then take the information to Zach. So they gather in Mal's office as he unloads a few comprehensive reports with a small smile.

"This is his English scoring," he says first, showing them a few bar graphs of knowledge standing based on the averages of other age groups, and Mal's heart aches to see Zach's indicated line up in a sophomore level of college. "And that's also his highest score. Meanwhile, his Science and Math..." he puts down two more graphs, and these are only slightly more reasonable. Science dips into a ninth or tenth-grade knowledge, but a scribbled note reads: "Account for youthful lack of term knowledge - 11th grade." Math reads at a solid tenth-grade mastery level. There's one last paper that groups together general history knowledge, medical information, and then apparently her son knows some German and French? He's scored at the lowest comprehensive level for the two languages.

"I would honestly be comfortable to start him in with college classes if not for one major issue," Mr. Jensen says, pulling out the last paper. He slides it forward, and Ben begins to laugh while Mal processes what she is reading. "Your son cannot write very well," Mr. Jensen finishes. "He writes at a second or third-grade level."

A scan of Zach's question response sheet reveals two shaky lines of a very direct answer. He obviously didn't get the idea of an 'essay'. His handwriting shows the courage of someone who knows what they want to say but holds the shakiness of someone whose hand isn't trained to writing very nicely or for very long amounts of time.

"He's also not quite as mature as he thinks he is," Mr. Jensen continues with a shrug. "He gets frustrated and his attention span isn't very long and he gets distracted easily. But that wouldn't be a huge deal, necessarily. We just have to get his essay writing up to scratch and he'd be fine."

"We'll talk," Ben decides, glancing at Mal. "We might hold off a while. He needs to be a kid for a little while longer and I don't want to push him towards this. If he wants to go, I have nothing against it, but it's not my goal to push him through college yet."

Mal nods along with him. She's more than okay with waiting, and now she has a good cover.

* * *

"Are you really thinking of sending him to college?" Evie asks Mal and Ben while all the VK's sit together in the palace library, talking to each other. Mal hums and combs her fingers through Zach's hair. He's sitting beside her and reading a book on unleashing creativity. It's an interesting read for him - he usually doesn't like self-help books.

"Not yet," Ben shakes his head. "He can't write well enough yet. But we're keeping an eye on him and we'll see."

Zach yawns and curls into Mal's side while he reads. In her lap, she's balancing a sketchbook at an angle so she can see the bottom of the paper around her belly. This baby is bigger than Zach was but smaller than Tyler was. Mal's hoping they're a good mediator between the two boys. They don't seem as temperamental, but she could do without the dance parties in her belly every time she's near music. The baby almost tipped her over yesterday with several sharp kicks to the right side of her stomach.

The door opens and Tyler appears in the doorway. They put him to bed a while ago, and so Ben frowns to see him. "Mom?" He whines from the door, flinching away from his dad's stern gaze, "I can't sleep. Can you come sit with me?" He rubs his eyes a little and then Mal noticed his black, weighted blanket pulled over his shoulders like a cape.

"Not now, beastie," Mal hums, adding a long, thick line to her drawing. "But you can come sit with mom as she finishes this. Then I'll come and take you to bed."

Tyler tugs his blanket into the room and comes to hop up next to her. He pulls his blanket up and Mal sets her sketchbook down to help him pull the edge up around his ears. Evie chuckles from across the room as Tyler tucks the corners of his blanket around her legs in a show of goodwill.

"Former mistress-of-evil-in-training turned pillow," she calls as she cuddles her own children to her chest.

Ben rolls his eyes at Evie's description. He loves moments like these when he can see how close his boys are to their mom. He watches Tyler put a hand to his mom's belly and frown. "The baby is kicking me," he complains. "Can you tell him to stop?"

"If only it worked like that," Mal sighs as Zach closes his book and leans his head on her belly.

"Baby," he mumbles softly, patting right beside her belly button. "Kicking isn't nice. Don't kick mom anymore."

Miraculously, the fleeting in the side of her stomach ceases. Mal raises her eyebrow at her oldest. "Oh, of course they'll listen to you," She sighs. Zach curls into her even further and closes his eyes. The other adults laugh as she rolls her eyes and then combs her fingertips up and down Zach's back until Tyler whines and presses his head into her. She keeps drawing aimless patterns on Zach's back while using her other hand to start combing through Tyler's purple locks while both boys lean against her belly like it's a pillow.

"Careful," Ben warns as Tyler closes his eyes. "They're going to go to sleep on you."

"You can help me carry one of them up," Mal replies and then yawns. She closes her eyes and hears Ben stand up. He pulls two more blankets up out of a chest and then she hears him flap them out before one that's thick and fluffy falls over Zach's frame and covers one of her hands. She pulls it out to keep rubbing his back through the blanket and then a woolen blanket falls over her chest and legs. Ben lifts Tyler's head onto the blanket. Despite what he said about not being able to sleep, he's out cold. Zach manages to move his own head, but by the time Ben leans down to kiss the crown prince's forehead, Zach is snoring softly.

Mal peeks out underneath her eyelashes to watch as Ben kisses Tyler's head, tilting his son's chin up so he doesn't start drooling on her, and then kisses her cheek before returning to his seat on the couch with Evie and Doug and Carlos and Jane and Jay. Mal keeps her eyes closed, humming to both of her children and quietly petting them.

"Back when we were teens, I never thought she'd be a good mom," Carlos hums.

"Oh, she's fantastic," Ben replies. "Did I tell you about her Christmas fiasco? She surprised them with origami decorations on their presents. They were thrilled."

"I'm glad she's good at what she does," Evie sighs and Mal can hear her brow in closer to Doug. "It gives me hope that I can do something right."

"You do plenty good," Doug sighs. "You just don't let yourself see it."

"Mal's the same way," Ben says with a groan. "I kinda left this out, but the Christmas present thing? When I told her that it wouldn't matter in the end, she said that if the kids turn out as evil as Maleficent then at least she could say she tried to wrap their presents nicely at Christmas."

"I'm still awake, Ben," Mal made a face in his general direction. "I can hear you."

"Evie had a breakdown when someone gave Lexi makeup. It was a kid's set, but she started crying about how she was turning into her mother."

"Mal always has a tough time when the boys ask her about the Isle of the Lost."

"Wait," Jane interrupts with a tiny gasp. "Are they already asking about the Isle?"

Mal groans and covers both Tyler's and Zach's ears. She's positive they're both fast asleep, but it makes her feel better. "Zach is," she sighs. "Tyler doesn't care yet. He'll ask questions if Zach brings something up, but he doesn't care yet."

"Zach told Hades and Tyler that Maleficent used to hit her," Ben sighs, and Mal opens an eye to watch him pinch the bridge of his nose. "And then we were trying to explain it to him, and he asked if she'd been abused. I didn't even know he knew what that meant."

"He looked me up on his phone," Mal calls, closing her eyes again. "I was looking through his history and he was searching through my old interviews. But he was filtered out by our family system, so he didn't end up reading anything."

"That's scary, " Evie whispers. "I thought I had a few more years."

"I don't even have the years I thought I'd have with Zach!" Mal complains. "He's like a forty-year-old stuck in a seven-year-old's body!"

"You probably still have time," Ben consoles Evie. "But Zach? He's trying to study AP Physics and I'm completely lost."

"That's funny, considering he's your son," Jay laughs and Mal opens her eyes to frown at her old friend as he leans over to shove Ben's arm. "No way those genius genes came from Mal."

Ouch. Mal fixes the blankets around her and the boys as she glares at the carpet. She can't exactly fault Jay even as his words cut deep and sting because she thinks the same thing at least twice with every question Zach has.

"That is not true," Ben hisses, smacking Jay's hand off his arm. Mal lets her gaze flick upwards but doesn't say anything as she tucks Zach's blanket around him tighter. "Just because she didn't have a lot of school time doesn't mean she's not a fast learner. Zach's reading might come from me, but his memory is hers."

"Ben," Mal shakes her head. "He's right. I've accepted it." Sort of.

"No, he's not right," Ben snaps back, glaring at her now. "Don't you dare think that."

His voice doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for argument, but Mal still clears her throat and acts as if this entire conversation isn't hurting her. It's almost as if they're discussing whether or not she's Zach's mother after everything she's gone through with him and how hard she's tried and all the love she has for him in her heart. "Ben, he was four when he first realized that you know-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Ben shakes his head at her.

"You were the one defining things for me at-"

"Mal, go to sleep."

She sighs, opens her eyes long enough to roll them and then lets herself sink back into the couch, cuddling both of her beautiful little boys to her chest. She hears the conversation start back up - Ben starts regaling everyone with tales of the boys' winter recitals. Tyler did a hip-hop dance with his department and Zach had a solo riff in his guitar lessons. He's been talking to them about learning to play the piano lately. She lets the background noise fade into a low buzzing and then slowly feels herself drift off.

She feels herself wake back up hours later when Ben picks Zach up off of Mal and carefully wraps the blankets around him before carrying off. She slowly gets to her feet, yawning, and then gathers Tyler up in much the same way.

When she puts him into his messed bed, avoiding his toys on the floor, she takes the time to kiss his head and tuck the covers around his body. Purple hair sweeps up at odd angles on his pillow, and she can see the lightning-shaped buzz cut he asked for in the side of his hair. Her baby boy. The one that looks and acts like her. Her three boys are her whole life, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Tyler bursts into a meeting that she and Ben are sitting in on. His shirt has white marks up and down it and more white streaks that look like they're from a chalk marker cover him. "Mom! Dad!" he shouts upon entering and dashes up to the head of the table as everyone jumps and spins around. "Look at me!"

"Why do you have white all over you?' Ben asks as he turns in his seat in obvious alarm.

"Did you get into Mom's paint markers?" Mal demands, seizing his arm and rubbing at the white marks on his arm. "You did! Why were you in my studio?"

"Look, mom!" Tyler proclaims, showing them his arms and pointing to sparse marks up and down his skin. "Now I have battle marks like yours!"

Silence overtakes the room as Tyler keeps an index finger on a smudged line on the inside of his elbow, waiting for praise. A few court members let out breaths as they connect the dots and realize what "battle marks" Tyler means.

Ben seizes his son's arm and uses his leg to push his chair out. Mal's face is burning as the other royals exchange cautious glances between her and Tyler. "Cover me," Ben orders, and marches Tyler to the door quickly. It's open because Tyler burst in and didn't close it. He pushes him out into the hall and Mal can hear his stone-hard voice start to lecture their younger son before Ben closes the door behind them and then the meeting can proceed as normal.

Except now no one will meet her eyes and the marks on her back are burning even though they're almost twenty years old.


	8. Internet

"But Mom! I just wanted to look like you!" Tyler whines as he flops his head against his pillow. Mal sits down on the bed with a sigh to talk to him.

"That's not a good way to do it, Beastie. Mommy doesn't like people knowing she has those marks."

"Why? They tell everyone that you can kick their butts!" Tyler wrinkles his nose up as he starts to howl. He's still perturbed by Ben hauling him into the bathroom and scrubbing off every mark with a loofah, leaving sensitive skin behind.

"People already know that, Tyler. Those marks just tell them that someone hurt me. When you came in today, you told everyone that I had been hurt." Mal struggles to explain. Zach understood from the beginning that you don't talk about things that hurt other people, but Tyler struggles to understand the concept.

"But it was a long time ago!"

"But it still hurts me, Tyler."

"Maybe you should get over it." Tyler crosses his arms and glares at her. Mal sighs and struggles to keep a biting remark in the back of her throat. 'Isle remarks' she calls them. Things she would say if she'd never left.

"Maybe you should be more kind," She responds instead, rising to take her leave. She'll try again tomorrow when he's hopefully calmed down more. Unfortunately, Tyler jumps up, scrambles to the end of his bed, and shakes the footboard on it as he starts to scream after her:

"You're not kind! Dad's the nice one around here! You're just the mean, nasty, stupid dragon!" He leans from side-to-side to ram the bed into the wall and Mal waves her hand at it so he can't damage the sheetrock. That only incites him to drive it harder against the wall.

"Goodnight, Tyler." She flicks the light off.

"If you want to die then go ahead because I won't care!" Tyler screams with giant crocodile tears streaming down his face. Mal moves to close the door quickly to hide her tears, but a large hand appears in the center of the door and flings it back open. The handle slams into the wall and breaks off, clattering to the floor. Ben pushes her aside - not roughly, just guiding her over a few feet - and then blazes into the room and snatches Tyler by the back of his shirt. Her six-year-old lets out a piercing howl of protest that leaves her ears ringing. Ben growls right back. She's never seen him so angry. His face is so red and purple it looks like it's bruised over and swollen. He looks taller than he is with his big hands shaking like he's his own personal earthquake.

Mal turns away and leans against the wall, staring at the opposite side of the hallway as she hears a resounding smack echo from inside the room. Tyler's screaming cuts off and then he starts to cry. Meanwhile, Mal covers her ears and closes her eyes.

She and Ben are not above spanking the children for bad behavior, especially when things like death threats come into play. However, it's never really practiced. Zach obeys and listens and is calm. Tyler is the opposite, but he more often needs time to himself or a stern look from one of them. Not a thrashing, usually.

She hears another sharp smack echo from inside the room and flinches. Is she a bad mother, for letting Ben punish their son for his temper tantrum? It's not like she's her mother, digging knives into them and punishing them for using their full names and yelling at them every moment of every day, but she has to wonder if she's allowing the cycle of abuse to circle around to her offspring, even if it is turning a little more slowly now.

It seems like years have fallen off her lifespan before she hears Ben toss their sobbing child into his bed, yank his covers over him, and stomp to the door. "If I ever hear you speak to your mother like that again," he snaps, seizing the wobbly, broken door handle as he starts to step back into the hallway, "I will spank you until you are black and blue. You do not get to say things like that to her."

He slams the door so hard that the handle, already broken on the other side of the door, flies straight out of his hand and into the opposite wall. He cusses at it as it lands back at his feet and then kicks it down the hall toward the living room before stomping away. Usually, he'd stop to reassure her, but she just assumes he's too far pissed to even be able to control his voice and so she turns in the opposite direction to let a few tears slide down her cheeks.

Several minutes pass. She listens to Tyler crying in his room into his pillow and then slowly his hiccups stop and there's only soft breathing. Ben comes back into the hallway to turn off the hall light but doesn't say anything to her still. She glances down into the hole where the handle used to be and, using the hall nightlight to her advantage, makes out Tyler's body. He's lying on his belly with his face buried in the pillow and his arms encircling it, squeezing tight. He looks like he's asleep.

Mal pushes the door open with her foot and steps inside. Not a movement comes from Tyler as she walks to the side of his bed, bends down, and kisses his forehead. He almost scares her senseless when he rolls back over, sits up, wipes his nose on the back of his sleeve, and then leans forward to kiss her cheek before lying back down.

"Goodnight, Tyler," she whispers, running a hand down his back before standing up.

"Night mom," he whispers, snuggling his face closer to hers. She starts to leave, but before she can get out the door, she hears: "I didn't mean what I meant. I'd be very sad if you died."

* * *

It's such a small comment, but it makes her eyes fill with tears all over again. She barely makes it out the door in time.

Mal's small family tumbles through the front doors, dropping everything as they go. Ben is already on the couch, finishing up some paperwork, but he'll be moving to their room or his office now that the boys are here. Mal trips over Tyler's shoes, uses her feet to push them aside, raises the jumble of bags she's carrying over Zach as he leans down to untie his laces, and drops everything behind the couch with an exhausted sigh. Ben shuts his laptop and stands up to kiss her. "Guess what I did," He smiles as he picks up a bag with milk and orange juice in it.

"What did you do?" Mal groans, struggling to work her swollen feet out of her shoes.

"I booked a family vacation for four and a baby on a cruise," he announces. Both boys look up.

"What's a cruise?" Tyler asks.

"We're going on a boat?" Zach demands.

"A boat!" Tyler claps his hands to his cheeks in surprise.

"When?" Mal asks, picking up a bag of fresh fruit and furrowing her brow. "I'm having the baby next month."

"Not until July," Ben assures her. "And yeah, I know that they'll only be two months old, but I thought that it might be fun to get out with Zach and Tyler before..." He trails off, giving her a meaningful nod. Mal sighs as Zach pulls his phone out of his pocket to plug in.

"Before what?" he calls, skimming notifications from games and the news app.

Mal sighs and takes a seat as Ben takes the small collection of groceries into their kitchenette. They still eat most meals with Ben's parents as served by the staff, but it's good to have snacks around now that the boys are getting older. "Well, when your essay-writing is better, Dad and I were going to see if you'd like to go take classes at Auradon Accelerated," she admits, rubbing her hands on her knees and clearing her throat so it doesn't feel as tight. "We'd probably book you for morning classes because Tyler is going to have after-school things. You'd have your classes all day while he does his things." Her second child is struggling with math, so he's staying after school for a half-hour to get help. A theatre program was looking for kids to audition for their summer season, and he auditioned and got a small part that gives him enough time to walk with a friend to the theatre from the school after tutoring. If he likes it, he might do the next season's shows too. If not, he'll keep going to dance after school even though some of his other friends have dropped the class and are moving on to things like music and karate and computer-gaming clubs.

"You'd still have to keep up the guitar," Ben calls from the other room, though Zach doesn't look too put-out at the prospect as he smiles and nods eagerly. It's been several years he's been taking it now, and while he's nowhere near a mastery level, he's extremely proficient after so many long hours of practice. "And if you want to do piano, we'd have to balance that too. But it's an option."

"You don't have to do a full schedule either," Mal cautions. "Remember, you have to sit in the class and listen to the teacher to learn everything. If it's too hard to sit for so long, then we'll take you out of it."

"What if I don't know enough?" Zach frowns, folding his arms as he considers everything.

"You might have to get some extra help," Ben replies, walking over and setting his hands on Mal's shoulders. "You might have to stay after to talk to the professor or use your phone to do some extra studying."

"But if it's too much, then we'll make you slow down," Mal says, reaching up to put a hand over Ben's.

"I think I might try." Zach puffs out his chest in determination. "I have a website that's helping me to write essays. If I practice, then I'll get good at it."

"Why don't you just stay home?" Tyler asks, rolling over the back of the couch and falling onto Mal and Zach. "That's what I would do if I were smarter than Ernie Sunshine."

"Who?" Mal asks.

"Albert Einstein," Zach corrects, pushing Tyler's head away from his. "He was a child genius like me. Except he went to school. I think he was very bored."

"Because he was smart?" Ben asks with a laugh while Zach nods solemnly.

"I'm not smart and school is still boring," Tyler yawns, rolling over his Mom's legs and then dropping to the floor. "Being smart is only fun if you don't have to go to school. Otherwise, it's just annoying. But either way, you're annoying if you're smart."

"We're going to be going to Motuni," Ben breaks in before an argument can start between the two boys. "Do you know who lives there?"

Hei-Hei!" Zach looks up with a mischievous grin on his face.

Tyler jumps up from the floor and flexes his biceps into the air. "Maui! he bellows.

"Moana," Mal deadpans. "She's the ruler of that kingdom. We were talking about Moana."

"But she's a girl," Tyler says, looking at them both in confusion. "I thought we were talking about boys."

Mal only sighs and shakes her head.

"Did you know that women were once forbidden to eat bananas in Motuni?" Zach asks as he reaches for his cell phone. "They also couldn't have pork or coconut."

"Coconut is gross," Tyler groans.

"That reminds me that we need to search your phone," Mal sighs. "We were supposed to do it yesterday before you went to bed and we forgot." She holds out her hand for the device and Zach puts it into her palm without a protest. He gets up and walks to the kitchen while Mal unlocks it and begins to skim his text messages.

"What are we gonna do in Motuni?" Zach asks Ben as he gets out a bunch of grapes. "Is this another work trip?"

"Nope," Ben replies, picking up his laptop and turning it around to show Zach. "We're going to go hiking and scuba diving and we're going to walk out in this bay area where you can see sunken ships. Mom's going to collect thousands of seashells for her art supplies and you boys and I are going to go fishing."

"Zach!" Mal snaps to a sitting position and turns to where her two oldest(Ben counts as someone she occasionally has to look after) are pouring over pictures of what their upcoming trip will look like. "Why were you searching for people getting pregnant?"

All of the color drains out of Ben's face. Zach shrugs. "I was wondering how you got the baby in you," he responds nonchalantly.

"Ben!" Mal holds the phone out to her husband with this very specific tone of voice. The tone of voice that says "You better fix this or I don't know what I'll do."

"What did you see?" Ben asks, taking the phone and searching through the history tabs. Zach, who suddenly realizes that he's about to get in trouble, sits down. Mal kicks Tyler's arm lightly with her toes and gestures for him to step out. He doesn't get the motion, so she takes him by the arm to the hall and whispers for him to stay out for a moment while they talk with Zach.

"I don't know?" Zach starts, trying to remember everything. "Most of the sites said the same things about waiting until ovulation and timing-"

"Zach!" Ben cuts him off, covering his forehead with one hand as he stares at Zach's phone in horror. "Why are you searching for this stuff?"

Mal looks over Ben's shoulders and immediately regrets it. Dozens of pornographic images are lined up on her son's cell phone screen. Ben scrolls by as fast as he can, but there's an entire page of them. More than that, when he hits the 'back' button on the browser, four more pages of other images are lined up after the first. Clearly, Zach did more than glance through them.

"Did I do something wrong?" Zach wonders, sinking into the couch and fidgeting. "I thought it was okay because the little block thing didn't come up."

"Why isn't he being blocked from these sites?" Mal snaps, wheeling around on Ben. "I thought the system we had would filter this out!"

"Most of these sites are medical sites," Ben responds, sitting down and looking a thousand years older as he catches himself up on what his son has been finding. "And these ones... I thought our filter would block these sites!"

"Which ones are the problem?" Zach asks, lip wobbling. "I've been reading some stuff for the last few days... most of it was at the library."

Ben sinks further into the couch, looking furious. He keeps scrolling. Most of the search bar history options make sense, but it was clicking on the 'related links' that led Zach to trouble. "How babies grow" turned slowly into "what happens during childbirth" before becoming "implantation and conception." Her baby wasn't meaning to stumble onto these sites, but he somehow ended up there anyway. Ben thumbs into Zach's settings and then to the internet browser. Mal seethes when she sees 'Block Adult Content' still enabled. Still not enough to keep everything away.

"It must have been the different WIFI network," Ben realizes under his breath. "I have the settings enabled from my phone... they must just block him from searching on our WIFI. Being at the library, he's not protected."

"Mom? Dad?" Zach calls and both parents finally look over at him. He sinks into the couch, looking ashamed, and his lower lip sticks out as he begs forgiveness with his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whines.

Mal lets out a breath. "It's okay," she murmurs, glancing at Ben as he pulls out his phone and starts researching for a different filter they can use. "It's not your fault."

"But," she thinks, "you're probably going to have lots of questions now. Questions I don't want to answer."

"Zach," Ben says, patting the seat next to him and then scooting over so there is room for Mal to sit on the end as well. Zach walks over and sits in the middle of them as Ben begins to type in the web addresses that Zach's been searching into a list of blocked websites his phone won't let him go on now. "Why did we let you have the phone?"

"So I could look up things that confused me and call you and mom," Zach responds, leaning into Ben's arm and watching his search history vanish as Ben deletes things, adding them to the blocked sites list.

"And so why would we put filters on your phone if we wanted you to be able to learn things?" Ben asks as he finishes and sets the cell phone down on the coffee table.

"So that I didn't see any blood or guts or scary things," Zach says.

"And?" Ben prompts.

"Bad things." Zach shrugs, glancing over to her for affirmation.

"That's right," Ben agrees, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. "We don't let you look up things with blood and violence because we don't want you to have nightmares, and also because we don't want you to think it's okay to act like that. We don't let you buy things without permission because we don't want you to buy something dangerous to you. We don't let you spend too much time on your games because we know it's not good for your head and eyes to be staring at a screen all the time. Do you agree with all that?"

Zach nods and Ben takes a moment to put an arm around his son. "The things you were looking at aren't good for you yet. Adults don't usually tell kids all about them because we don't want to confuse or hurt you. If you had asked Mom and me, then we could have told you something that would have been easy to understand and that could have answered your questions. The internet doesn't know that you're an eight-year-old kid. It doesn't know how much to tell you."

"You would have lied?" Zach asks, furrowing his brow.

"No," Mal refutes. "It's a little bit like how Dad didn't tell you all about my scars. Some of the stories scare him, and they would have scared you. We're going to wait until you're a little older to tell you everything, but we'll tell you the basics because you asked."

"So, not lying, but still not being honest," Zach crosses his arms.

"No, it is honest. But it's also careful," Ben says. "Zach, did you talk to Tyler about how your day was today?"

"I said it was good," Zach shrugged.

"But you didn't tell him everything!" Mal blurts out, catching on to where Ben is going with this exercise. "You didn't tell him all the books you read or how guitar lessons were or about how many times you went to the bathroom or to go get a drink..."

"It didn't matter," Zach's face twists in annoyance. He doesn't like how he feels like he's the bad guy here.

"Exactly. He would have gotten bored or confused or started talking to you too much about it," Mal says. "And it's the same way. If we tell you everything, you'll get confused or you won't understand what we're trying to say. That's why we're keeping everything in small answers on this subject."

"Why is it so bad?" Zach asks, deflating like a popped balloon. "I was just trying to figure out how the baby got into Mom." He glares at Mal's belly as if it's what's caused the issue.

"That's not all that bad," Ben sighs, treading carefully as he tries to figure out what he wants to say. "But... there is a problem when you start reading about how people get pregnant and start looking at pictures. For one," Ben holds out a finger, "we wouldn't want you to try making a baby with anyone, though I think you're smart enough to realize why that's a bad idea. For two," another finger goes out, "we don't want you sharing that information with friends who aren't ready to understand it. Three, lots of studies have been done, and they say that looking at those bad pictures can do lots of things to your brain. For example, it can lead to low self-esteem and can hurt your relationships with other people."

"Dad just doesn't like them," Mal cuts Ben off. "You stumbled on one of the things he hates the most."

"I do hate them!" Ben snaps at her. "They're... self-indulgent! They encourage you to see other people as objects, not as people. It's a representation of lack of class and discipline and respect! Especially towards women!" He pauses to readdress Zach, who is looking between them in confusion. "Listen, I'm going to tell you now that it's not okay to treat other people the way they're treated in those... comics. Or pictures. Whatever."

"Ben, he's seven," Mal says, putting a hand on Ben's arm. "Calm down."

"It is never too early to teach children about how to respect other people," Ben refutes her, getting up and walking aimlessly around the coffee table. "Zach, what did you see?"

Zach shrugs, cheeks going a bit red. "Not too much," he mumbles. Mal notices, though, the way he's suddenly avoiding looking at either of them and it makes her stomach turn. "I mostly just read stuff and tried to look around the pictures for words."

"Read stuff like what?" Ben gets down on eye level with Zach. "Did it look like a science book or like a story?"

Slowly, Ben begins to tug information out of their disobliging son. He describes at first things he read about where Mom's baby is in her belly and when heartbeats first start and things like that. Then he starts admitting about how people put babies inside themselves and how to increase and decrease that risk and by the time he's gotten around to trying to explain the pictures he was looking at from his innocent seven-year-old perspective, Mal is convinced that the cell phone lying on the coffee table has ruined her baby forever. Ben doesn't seem as concerned as she is, but he didn't grow up on the Isle of the Lost where people were taken advantage of and parents let other villains into their children's bedrooms and...

Oh, wait.

This is another cultural difference, isn't it?

"Okay, bud," Ben sighs when Zach is finished. "From now on, I'd rather you ask Mom and I questions about babies and love and things that are right and wrong. The internet knows a lot, but it doesn't know what you need to know. Mom and I do, so come to us first." He sighs and looks at Mal, emotionally exhausted. "I don't think we have a lot of time left, Mal," He whispers.

Mal slumps when she realizes what he means. Oh. Her baby is growing up even faster than she thought he was. Giving him the phone... he's already halfway to independence.

What's school going to do to him?

Ben turns back to Zach. "You may not have your phone until Mom and Dad set up a new filter that will keep you safe," he whispers, and Zach nods and sighs in frustration. "Do you have any questions about anything we talked about or what you saw?"

Zach shifts back and forth and nods. "A few," he agrees. "I wrote them in my notebook."

Of course he did. Of course he would take notes. Of course. Mal feels like slapping herself. Ben, too, sighs. "You should go get them," he whispers. "Go get them, but let's talk in your room so that Tyler doesn't have to keep waiting in the hall." He glances up at Mal. "Does Mom want to be included in this conversation?" he asks.

Mal immediately shakes her head. "No," she backs off. "No. You handle it. Just... don't go too deep."

Ben nods and Zach gets up and goes to pull his notebook out of his bag. Ben squeezes her hand once and kisses her cheek before the two head out of the room with Ben's hand spread out between Zach's shoulder blades. Mal doesn't quite know what to do after that since Tyler has long since gone to play with his action figures in his room. So goes and curls up with the comforter on their bed while the sky grows darker outside and waits for Ben to sneak back in.

He does, right as the sky is getting dark, and whispers something about how the boys went down to dinner before lying down next to her and wrapping his arms around the comforter and her in a hug that his arms almost aren't long enough for.

"He okay?" Mal asks. Ben nods against her shoulder.

"He knows a lot of crude words now."

"Are we horrible parents for talking to him about this before he's even eight?"

"Better that he hears it from us than the internet or kids at school."

Mal breathes against the pillows and closes her eyes. Another reason to be afraid of Zach going to college.


	9. Baby

"Did you know that more people have died in childbirth than in war?" Zach asks, combing his fingertips through Mal's hair as she sits on the couch, breathing slowly, nursing a glass of water as Ben grabs the last few items they'll need from the hospital.

"Zach, baby," Mal takes a deep breath and forces a smile. "That's not very helpful to Mom right now."

"Mom's gonna die?" Tyler exclaims from where he's sitting on the floor. One of his Li Shang action figures is riding his battered, abused, dirty dragon from Christmastime.

"No, Tyler," Zach rolls his eyes. "Mom's tough. And she's already done this twice before, so she's an expert."

Mal starts laughing, despite herself. She could have twenty kids and still not be an expert on this bullcrap.

"Done!" Ben announces from the doorway, swinging a bag over his shoulder. He rushes over to help Mal off of the couch. "Grandpa Hades is on his way. Until then, one of the servants are going to be supervising."

"Can I go?" Tyler shouts, jumping to his feet and tugging at Ben's shirt.

Ben pushes his hands away with a sigh. "Absolutely not," he declines firmly.

"But I want to see them take the baby out of mom!" Tyler howls. "I wanna make sure it's a boy!"

"You can see if they're a boy or girl when we bring the baby back here," Ben tells him.

Zach stands up. "Can I go?" He asks, quieter.

Ben huffs and begins to repeat himself before glancing at Mal. "I don't know," he huffs. "Can he?"

"I won't run around or make any noise!" Zach pleads as Tyler begins to squawk in protest. "I have my book and my phone and a charger cord. I'll sit in the waiting room and I won't make any noise or go anywhere without you knowing, I swear!"

"Can he be in the waiting room alone?" Mal asks Ben anxiously. This is, after all, the Crown Prince.

Ben shakes his head. "Sorry, bud," he pats Zach on the head. "We'd have to bring guards to watch you and it'll take another thirty minutes to get two up here."

Zach pouts. "Than can I follow you there?" he asks.

"I think you better wait here," Mal tells him. "Take care of Tyler for us and be nice to Grandpa. We'll be back soon." She kisses both complaining boys on the forehead as the door opens and Chip appears, panting. Ben begins to fill him in on how far out Hades is and what the family TV passcode is and where the snacks can be found.

"It better be a boy," Tyler snarls, poking Mal's stomach with a dirty look.

"So long as it's not a boy like you," Zach rolls his eyes. He begrudgingly gives Mal another hug. "Did you know that the first time a woman has a baby, her hips have to snap in two to let the baby's head through?"

"I could've told you that," Mal huffs in annoyance, "but it's still not helpful."

"I wasn't trying to be helpful," Zach says crossly as he takes a crosslegged seat on the armchair and pulls out his book. Mal frowns at him and grits her teeth. He's been in a... mood all week and it's starting to grate on her. Ben just says it's because his legs are sore from the growth spurt he's going through and also because Ben and Mal have been rather busy with last-minute prep of the baby and arranging for summer camps for Tyler. In short, he's feeling cranky, sore, and neglected. Which Mal, unfortunately, does not have time to address right now.

"Mal?" Ben calls from the door. He picks up their bag again and waits as she kisses Tyler's head one more time and then heads over to the door.

Zach kicks his legs up over the back of the chair and twists so his hair is falling over the seat of the chair. He cracks open his book, as he's still sitting upside down, and starts reading as Mal quickly thanks Chip and reassures him that Hades shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes away at this point. "Did you know that one out of every thousand babies are accidentally switched at birth? Or that you lose about a half-a-quart of blood during childbirth? Or that-"

"Zachary!" Mal finally snaps, balling her fists up and spinning around to pin her oldest underneath her gaze. Zach falls silent and looks away with more red tones in his cheeks.

Tyler pokes Zach's arm. "Who's the trouble-maker now?" He sneers. Zach shoves his hand away, and Tyler huffs so hard that smoke curls out of his mouth.

"Boys," Ben calls from the door and gives them both a stern look. "Be good, or you'll hear from us when we get home."

They shut the door behind them and then everything is a rush. A rush to the hospital, a rush to get checked in, and a rush with occasional pauses until it's late at night and they're finally making their way back up to their home in the palace.

In the living room, the television is rolling and Zach sits with his head against the coffee table, watching a game show that involves lots of random trivia. Hades and Tyler are curled up together on the couch, reading a book by the light of Hades's hair. Ben opens the door softly and then shuts it with a thud, causing all three to snap over.

"Mom!" Tyler shoves the book and the blanket he was cuddled under away from him and then scrambles to the floor as Zach rubs his eyes and yawns. He gets to his feet as Tyler barrels into Mal and squeezes her legs tightly. "You're back! Grandpa said we could wait up for you."

Ben sighs and sets the baby carrier down by the door. "Well, it's too late to ask Grandpa to send you to bed, but you still have to get up for school tomorrow." He ruffles Tyler's hair and then lifts the carrier's cover to unbuckle the new baby.

"I will. Where is he? Is he asleep? Did he cry a lot?" Tyler crowds over Ben's shoulder as Ben sighs and pushes the button to push the handle out of the way.

"Shh," Mal hums, running her fingers through Tyler's hair. "Not so loud, Beastie. Now listen, I know you wanted a baby brother, but it didn't quite work out like that. This is your baby sister."

"A girl?" Hades asks with a smile, getting to his feet as Ben lifts the little one out of her carrier to show off. "About time. Does she have purple hair?"

"She doesn't have any hair," Ben laughs and holds her forward to show Tyler.

Tyler crosses his arms and pouts. "I wanted a boy!" He whines. "Mom, I told you to have a boy!"

Mal shrugs hopelessly. "It just didn't work out like that, Beastie," she whispers and kisses his cheek. "But you're going to be a good older brother to her, right?"

"I don't think so," Tyler shakes his head. "Not if she cries a lot or likes dresses or if she's a smart aleck like Zach."

"What's her name?" Zach asks, stretching his arms a little as he walks over to them.

"She doesn't have a name yet," Ben whispers. "We have a few ideas but we weren't sure." He pats the ground next to him and nods to Tyler. "Tyler, if you sit down, we'll let you hold her before you go to bed."

Tyler wrinkles his nose up and turns away on his heel, looking much like Mal does when she decides she doesn't like something. "No thanks!" He exclaims. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight." With one last hug to Mal's legs and a hug for Grandpa Hades, he ignores Ben and the new baby and walks away. Ben can't keep in his sigh of exasperation as Hades laughs.

Zach peers cautiously around his grandfather as Hades walks up to examine his daughter's latest offspring and give her a comforting hug. She looks about ready to fall asleep for a thousand years. "She looks good," he congratulates her with a kiss to her temple. "I could do without all of him-" he gestures to Ben with a teasing smile "mixed up with her face, but she looks good enough." Mal laughs. The baby girl has her face shape, but her features are Ben's. Ben's round eyes and softer nose and the corners of her mouth turned up naturally into a smile as his do. Ben's detached ears and sure, she does have Mal's cheekbones, but then Ben's chin and Ben's rounded forehead, just like on Tyler's face.

Ben watches Zach creep up closer and laughs. "You can come see her, Zach," he invites. "You don't remember us bringing Tyler home, huh?'

Zach shakes his head and takes four more steps forward so he can lean down and examine the baby girl. His mouth falls open a little. "Oh," He whispers and then sits down on his knees beside Ben. "She's tiny."

"She is," Mal yawns. "You were point two ounces smaller, though. Tyler was the biggest out of all of you."

"It's because of all that empty space in his head," Zach dismisses casually, not ripping his eyes off of the newcomer. Mal claps a hand over her mouth as Hades lets out a guffaw. It's been a long time since she heard someone get roasted that badly.

"Do you want to hold her?" Ben asks softly. Zach nods eagerly. Ben demonstrates briefly how to balance her head and then sets her into Zach's lap for him to further examine. Zach looks both terrified and amazed as she settles into his hands with half of her body on his lap. Ben waits to make sure Zach's got a good hold of her and then fishes for his phone to take a few photos. Hades ignites his hair even further to help light Zach up enough to get a clear shot.

"Oh shoot," Zach whispers, still staring down at his sister.

"What's that, sweetheart?" Mal asks, leaning down a little to hear.

Zach looks back up at her with a terrified expression. "This is gonna be hard!" he exclaims. "She's too small to take care of herself! What're we gonna do if she gets hurt?"

Mal laughs again. "Well, baby, that's why she has us. We're here to protect her until she can take care of herself." She kneels to trace the baby's features with her fingertips.

"No, mom, you don't understand!" Zach protests. "She has to grow up and get friends and do things she likes but I don't want her to! She's gonna get hurt!"

Ben snorts and Hades shakes his head. Mal nods with pinched lips as she tries to contemplate a response. "Well, everyone has to grow up," she sighs a little, glancing at her husband as he gives her this little "Ha-ha, I-told-you-so" look. "Now you know a little how I feel about you."

Mal holds her hands out, offering to take the baby back from Zach, but he jumps back and a tiny, feral growl escapes his throat. Mal withdraws, holding her hands up, and leaves little seven-year-old Zach to marvel at his sister on the floor. Ben pulls her into an embrace as soon as she's back on her feet. "At least he likes her," he chuckles.

"What names were you thinking?" Hades asks, crossing his arms as he waits patiently for his turn to hold the baby.

Mal yawns and then begins listing on her fingers. "Collette, Avery, Charlotte, Olivia, Claire..."

"I still like Belle," Ben whispers aloud. "I think she looks like a Belle."

"I don't know if I want to have two people in the family named Belle, though," Mal grumbles. "Maybe as a middle name. We were also thinking Marie..."

She trails off, trying to remember her list, and closes her eyes as she leans further into Ben. The only sound is the crackling of Hades's hair and Zach's tiny whispers as he speaks to the newborn in his lap. Mal puts a hand up to rest against the back of Ben's neck, where she runs it through his hair carelessly until she hears Ben snort and focuses more on what her baby is saying to little Fae.

"... big brother. I'm the cool one - you don't need to worry about Tyler. He's crazy. Dad says he'll mellow out. Wow, you're so little, Belle. I have books that are bigger than you!" He puts his finger in Fae's tight grasp. "Hello, Belle. I'm sorry for all the crazy you've had to listen to lately. I swear most of it was Tyler. Hopefully it was pretty quiet inside of mom. Hopefully you don't mind noise too much because Tyler can be pretty wild. Hello, Belle..."

"Baby," Mal calls, opening her eyes back up to raise an eyebrow at Zach. "We haven't named her yet."

Zach glances up cautiously through his bangs and then looks back down at the baby. "Well, I'm gonna call her Belle for now, and maybe if you don't name her Belle then I'll change it."

Ben bursts into laughter, kisses Mal's neck for a second, and then lets her go. Hades chuckles in laughter. "Like it or not, Malie, I think you have a Belle in your family."


	10. Fire

Zach's writing slowly climbs to a middle-school level. He doesn't struggle with word choice or sentence fluency, but he's used to quick answers and writing only short notes to help him remember things. It takes him a while to grasp the idea that he has to explain himself to someone on paper. His handwriting isn't the best either. Ben gets him a letter book to practice forming letters in, but he hates it so vehemently that Mal doesn't even protest when he runs it through the shredder the second week.

"I already know what letters look like!" He snaps at Ben when Ben asks what his alternative will be. "I don't like learning over and over again!"

Impatience, Mal thinks, might be Zach's fatal flaw. He utterly hates anything that can't be immediately memorized and applied. Practicing things is of the devil, as far as he's concerned. Still, he's got to learn to write legibly, and if he won't do it the way Ben learned, then they've got to figure out something to help him. Mal suggests art classes. If he can control a brush or a pencil, her reasoning is, he shouldn't have a problem with lettering. However, Zach responds to that proposal with so much hate that she immediately backs down. Zach likes art, but he hates trying to make it. Dozens of Christmas coloring books have been buried or burned or thrown away under his care. Crayons and markers are only useful when pens and pencils are scarce. In his opinion, restaurant kids menus waste too much space with pictures and should devote more paper to riddles, trivia, and word searches. Her son thinks in words, and not pictures.

In the end, Mal comes up with a solution. They purchase a composition notebook, sit Zach down at the table every night, and have him write two front-and-back pages about his day. It turns out to be very therapeutic for him - the first few pages spew insults and rants about how awful his parents are for doing this to him and how much his hand hurts, and then once his hand gets used to the motions he's able to convey his frustration about his brother and his parents and his sister in a much more effective manner. On the night summer begins for kids in Auradon, Mal reads to Tyler on the couch while Zach fills five pages straight at the bar, ranting about how Tyler smashed a soda can on the ground and caused it to blow up everywhere before going straight into talking about how he's annoyed at his guitar classmates because all they can talk about is how school is getting out. His handwriting is becoming more consistent, but it's big, so Mal improvises a new strategy. The following night, she tapes off the back portion of Zach's book and tells him to only write two pages, front-and-back. There's a small tantrum and a few scathing remarks, and then his handwriting goes from covering two lines to having two neat lines fitting inside of one line. His handwriting is smaller than Ben's, and that's saying something. She doesn't comment when he requests sticky notes from Ben and continues filling the book with his thoughts about his day in shades of blue and yellow.

Eventually, Mal doesn't even have to remind him that he has to do some writing because his composition book sits in his room on his headboard with his dictionary and textbooks. She lifts the ban on using more than two pages and Zach takes advantage of the added space by letting his handwriting get a bit bigger to fill the lines properly. The last exercise she makes him do before letting habit take over entirely is to set a timer for twenty minutes and tell him that he has to write to fill the time, not the pages. It's the final thing that tips Zach's handwriting from legible to acceptable. Now that he's tapping his pencil along to the seconds and not caring about how many pages he can fill with his seven-year-old rage, he's taking the time to make little embellishments on his handwriting and takes care to have it stretch evenly across the page. It's not glorious, but it's understandable and neat. It's also good for Zach to have something he can fill with his thoughts on his family and his studies without fear of Mom and Dad picking it up and examining it. Mal feels a little like a genius when she notices that the more he spews out his frustrations on paper, the less annoyed he is the next day.

Once he's managed to grasp the concept of "you need to explain your ideas to other people, not just spit out random facts", his essay writing improves ten-fold. There are usually ten or so different places where he has to go back and re-write a part that doesn't fit into his thesis, so he's not perfect, but it is certainly an improvement. And it's just enough for Mr. Jensen to agree to let him sit in on Mathematics 1010 and Biology 1010 at Auradon Prep. If he handles it well, they'll add him to classes in the Winter semester. His student ID arrives a week before they leave on their trip to Motuni. Mal can barely see through her tears as she snaps a picture, but she passes it off as happy tears to Zach and holds off the worst of it until she's alone with Ben.

Zach gets new textbooks, but Ben makes him leave them behind for the week they're gone from the palace. "You will disengage," he says slowly as he locks them into the family safe. "You will not go and hide in a book, Zach. You need to be present and in the moment. We're going to take lots of photos and go look at lots of different places and I don't want you staring at a book the entire way there and back."

He does get to bring Ben's old laptop and his composition notebook as compensation. The notebook loses a considerable amount of pages during the plane ride when Zach starts watching a little kid's spelling and math show on one side of him and Baby Belle begins to cry on his other side. Mal has to scoot past Zach to walk around the plane with Belle and she budges his extra pens onto the floor as she tries to quell the crying. Other passengers glance at her, do a double-take at the purple hair, and Zach's in-use pen flies more furiously across the page with every whisper of "Queen Mal?"

Ben finally offers him a pair of headphones, but the thing about Zach is he doesn't appreciate much music outside of guitar and instrumental, while Ben prefers current pop bops. The poor kid is about to kill someone or break something by the time they finally land.

They have to wait until everyone else disembarks because of security. When Tyler's show ends and a new one starts with its catchy, silly intro music, Zach slams his head into the chair in front of him and lets out a feral growl of frustration.

Mal begins to wonder if they're going to survive this trip.

* * *

The thing about the boys is that they've always had their separate spaces. Zach's room is Zach's and Tyler's room is Tyler's and the boys have their specific seats in the car and their belongings and spaces and everything is separate. And on the ship, it's not like that. Ben and Mal keep Little Belle in one room, but the boys share the next room over. At first, it's exciting for them. Zach wants the bottom bunk because there's a lamp beside his pillow. Tyler wants the top bunk because it's higher up. Zach wants the desk all to himself. Tyler wants the TV. Zach gets the high shelves in the dresser. Tyler gets the lower ones. There is a division of space.

She should have known it was too good to last.

Ben is out taking a phone call on the deck when she hears a thump'n'crash from the next wall over. She hurries to put Belle into the portable crib without waking her up and by the time she makes it into the wall, there is screaming coming from the boys' room. The door is unlocked, so she opens it and steps into a war scene.

"I told you not to jump!" Zach howls in a tone so loud that Mal's eardrums threaten to burst. The left side of his forehead is bleeding and the top bunk bed, which was screwed into the wall, is lying on Zach's bed. His face is all purple as he shouts at a crying, stunned Tyler. "I told you no and you didn't listen, you idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot!" Tyler yells right back. Green light fills his eyes. "You're just a stupid, smart-aleck bully!"

"At least I don't break everything I touch!"

"At least I don't make momma cry!"

"You make mom cry all the time because you're insensitive and blind!"

"Well, at least I'm normal!"

"What on earth?" Mal interrupts from the doorway. Neither boys notice her.

"Maybe if you could calm down for once then this wouldn't happen!" Zach yells in this deep, throaty voice that sounds like a growl as tears stream down his face. Could she be imagining it, or do the sides of his face seem darker the angrier he gets?

"Mind your own business, you rat!" Tyler howls back with purple smoke curling out of his nostrils. "Go back to not talking to anyone because no one wants to talk to you anyway!"

Zach lets out a deep, vicious growl and Tyler screeches right back at him. A fountain of flames spills forth from Tyler's mouth. Mal panics. "No!" She shouts, jumping forward and shoving Zach and Tyler apart as green flames catch on the floor and on Zach's shirt. Mal stomps out the flames on the ground and tries to brush away the fire on Zach's shirt but he wrenches himself away from her and takes a swipe at Tyler. His fingernails aren't there anymore – they're claws and they leave three cuts across Tyler's face before he throws himself to the ground and starts sobbing and thrashing around in a complete meltdown.

The fire alarms go off. The floor is on fire; the beds are on fire; Zach is on fire. He howls and claws at himself and Mal grabs him by the neck as his shirt starts to rip open and burn away at the same time. Horns are curling out of his head and his knuckles are becoming horribly knobby and crooked as she shoves him into the bathroom shower and turns the cold water on full blast.

Purple smoke is still emanating from Tyler on the floor and Mal catches on too late, distracted as she is with trying to contain the bedroom fire with her powers as Zach collapses under the cold shower wall, sobbing. His face is longer and deformed, but he seems to be going back to normal or at least not morphing any further. Tyler sneezes, and his body explodes into a new form. A tiny purple dragon is now writing on the floor, spewing green flames as he thrashes about.

"No!" Mal shouts though yelling isn't doing much good. Tyler flaps clumsy, frail wings and rolls onto his back accidentally, coughing up green flames and sounding a lot like a dying chicken. Fire singes Mal's heels, and she hears people running down the hall to her. Cruise ship attendants appear and their mouths fall open at the dragon on the ground and the sparse fires everywhere. Mal makes a split-second decision and grabs the first part of Tyler she can touch before he writhes away from her. It turns out to be his tail, which she uses to pull him, squawking and crying, into the shower beside Zach. Zach hisses when he sees him, but Mal claps her hands in front of her oldest and Zach flinches away from the noise miserably. She slams the door to the bathroom before the attendants can see Zach and then turns to extinguish the flames before finally taking a deep breath to try and explain all of this to them.

The baby is crying next door. Where is Ben?

"Hi," Mal coughs a little. Her voice is hoarse now. "I'm so sorry about the chaos." She waves her hand at the fire alarm a little helplessly and it turns off without much prompting. Thank goodness. "The boys… they got into a fight… I can fix most things and we'll pay for what I can't fix."

"Was that a dragon?" One of the attendants asks, looking white even though he has darker skin and tan lines.

Mal winces. "Yes, uh, he should be fine in a moment. I'll help him as soon as you all leave… do you happen to have a screwdriver?"

"A screwdriver?" A girl with a braided bun squeaks. "Is he going to eat it?"

"Ah, no," Mal shakes her head and takes a few steps further into the room to put a hand on the fallen bed. "I just… the screws came out of the wall and I was hoping to screw them back in?"

The first man looks around, shell shocked, and runs a hand down his face. "Perhaps we should simply… move you into a different room?" He asks feebly. "You may fix this one if you like, but, uh, it might be easier to simply move everything."

Mal smiles a tight little smile. "My husband is on the deck," she explains through her teeth. "I'd like to discuss it with him when he gets back. Now, could you please leave, so I can attend to my children?"

"W-would you be requiring anything?" The man stammers out.

"Some hydrogen peroxide would be lovely," Mal forces a smile and then steps out into the hall. Belle is crying even louder now and others in the hall are exchanging odd looks and looking down to where the commotion was. She quickly scoops up Belle, but Belle only starts to cry even louder as she's jostled into her mom's arms. Mal locks her door behind her. The attendants stand, stone still, outside the boy's door. From down the hall, Mal sees the tall, steady figure of her husband appear from the stairwell. He heads down, pauses when he sees everyone standing outside their doors, and then walks faster as Mal hovers in the doorway of the boys' room, trying to quell the distraught baby.

"Is everything okay?" Ben asks, glancing between everyone's faces. He peers into the room and his mouth falls open. "Oh, dear…"

"Thank you," Mal addresses the attendants and gestures him in. He steps over the threshold and Mal finally gets to close the door.

"What happened?" He gasps as she shoves the baby into his hands and storms over to the window to start letting the smoke out before the alarms go off again.

"The boys fought," Mal responds briefly. She opens the door to the bathroom and shuts off the water to the shower before Ben sees their two young charges. He lets out a ragged, shaky breath. The only thing holding them both together is all the crazy experiences they had as teens together.

Zach has the nose of a cat in a dark shade of pink, like a baby lion. Tiny horns are peeping out of his shaggy locks and his hands are gnarled paws with long claws attached. He has red marks like sunburns on his neck and chest. His button-down shirt has been ripped open and the remnants of hair stretch down his torso, visible through the rips. It's his appearance that has Ben about ready to hyperventilate, despite the fact he doesn't look as bad as he did before and his normal features are quickly returning.

Tyler's body shape has returned to normal. He looks wiped out as he leans, exhausted, against the shower tiles opposite Zach. His hands are curved talons with four fingers each. Dragon skin still stretches down the left side of his face and when he breathes, smoke curls out from his lips. The cuts on the right side of his face are still bleeding, but he doesn't seem that hurt now that he's wasted all that energy in dragon form.

Mal wets a rag hanging on the wall, rubs a bar of soap against it, and starts cleaning Tyler's cheek off. He whines as she does so and then curls up with his head on her leg as she treats the cuts. He's not burned. Like her, he must be resistant to his own flames.

"Well, Beastie," Mal sighs, pulling Tyler's cheek down so she can clean the cuts out, "Maybe you'll have your own marks like Mom's after this."

Tyler whines and pulls his face away as the soap stings the flesh of his cheek. He struggles to sit up and peer into the mirror before falling back down beside her. "I don't like them," He mumbles, and curls his face away into her belly.

"Zach?" Mal calls softly. "Are you hurt?"

Zach lifts his arms, feels his face, and shakes his head. "I just bit my tongue," he mutters angrily and then distracts himself by pressing on his nose to feel the shape of it while his fingers slowly return to normal.

Mal nods and glances up at Ben, who's managed to calm Belle down. She flicks on the bathroom fan with a sigh. "Ben, please get them some new clothes," she requests and reaches down to start tugging Tyler's light-up sneakers off of him. He moans a little, but she manages to get his socks and shoes off before Ben starts tossing things her way. The dragon skin on his face is fading.

First one child, and then the other, is undressed, dried off, and fixed up. Mal has Ben take them into their bedroom to rest while she tries to figure out what to do about the room. Zach has burns on his upper body and Tyler's cuts go almost all the way through his cheek, but they're both asleep now, so she'll have to deal with their complaints later.

"What happened?" Ben asks as they work together to heave Tyler's collapsed bed off of Zach's. Books have been crushed between the two, but they all look okay.

"Tyler was jumping on the bed and I think it caught Zach on the way down," Mal mumbles tiredly. "Your son has some very cruel insults in him."

"Which one?"

"Both."

They manage to reattach the bed to the wall and Mal starts pulling off singed, bloody sheets. She's not sure what to do with them. Ben lifts the books off of Zach's bed with pinched lips. "Do these look familiar?" He asks Mal.

Mal squints. They're textbooks, not uncommon of Zach, but specifically, they're the new ones that Ben locked in the safe before they left home. Beside them is Zach's well-loved composition notebook. Mal is suddenly understanding why her son chose the route of screaming at his brother instead of just sighing and coming to get her. "How'd he get those?" She asks.

Ben shakes his head. He doesn't look happy, to say the least. "I don't know," He responds. "You're sure he doesn't have magic?"

Mal gestures around the room. "After this? I'm positive."


	11. Bully

Burn cream, hydrogen peroxide, and nail clippers all go on their expense list for their trip.

At dinner, two equally annoyed but still respectful princes sit side-by-side by each other. No more mottled skin, no more twisted hands.

"Zach, how did you open the safe?" Ben asks, not looking up from his menu as he shows Tyler what he's allowed to order.

Zach flushes. None of them need to ask what he got out or how Ben knows. Even Tyler isn't surprised – he must have been keeping the secret with Zach. "I know the code," he admits, sliding into his chair with the tips of his ears red.

"How?" Ben flicks his eyes up to examine his oldest.

Zach's ears turn completely red. "I saw you punch it in on my phone." He's referring to the restrictions passcode. Ben recently learned you can keep kids from clearing their history and while they trust Zach (a lot less after today but still) he decided it'd be a good precaution to take.

"Hm," Ben hums and glances over at Mal, who rolls her eyes to the ceiling. "I don't know about you but I think I could use some wine right now."

"If you get drunk, you're sleeping with the boys and supervising."

* * *

Zach turns eight. They survive the rest of their family trip and manage to have some fun on the beaches together. Mal fills a section of hers and Ben's suitcase with shells that she plans to decorate a frame with when they get home. School restarts a month later and Zach enters college while Tyler begins the wonderful world of the second grade.

Zach's first four classes in either subject are difficult until he figures out what subjects everyone else already knows and finds a book to fill him in on it all. Then, once he knows the subject matter, he's back to downloading everything the teacher mentions into his brain. His first tests come back all nineties and ninety-fives. So that's that. Mal has an eight-year-old who is acing college and no, she's not bitter about it at all.

She just really has to fight the urge to set the school on fire.

Tyler is acting now with the children's theatre program. The opening show for this season is Julius Caesar, which Mal had no idea could be adapted for children, but the closing show is Beauty and the Beast and Tyler has his heart set on being Grandpa Adam. Math is still hard for him, but sometimes he and Zach will sit at the bar table so Zach can help him and that helps keep them from fighting. Sometimes, after school, they'll sit at the bar working on homework together while Mal pulls out snacks. Belle will be sitting on the floor all by herself, bopping her head along to whatever beat is playing and switching her hair color from purple to dirty blonde. She must have some sort of magic in her but hasn't done much besides switching back and forth between looking like Ben or looking like Mal. Hades thinks it's something called a Split-Gene disorder, where Ben and Mal's chromosomes didn't cross over correctly due to her being a fairy and him being a human. Therefore, she has the ability to switch back and forth between looking like Parent A or Parent B. Zach supports this theory, but Mal doesn't quite understand it. The other alternative is that she has the ability to change her appearance at will but only chooses to mimic her parents(and possibly Zach and Tyler, but who could tell) because that's who she's around the most.

School is in session for about two and a half months and nothing interesting happens except for when Zach brings home a few papers from his professors asking to test him out and move him into more advanced classes and also asking if he'd like to sign on for more classes at the semester change. He signs on for chemistry and physics and Trigonometry and Statistics. He asks Mal if he can take Calculus alongside all the others but they both agree he shouldn't push himself too hard. He also signs on for his first English class with the college, which he's a bit nervous for since essay-writing is still a small struggle for him. He hasn't had all the training that the other students have. So he starts staying after to work with the librarian in the college and that helps him feel a little more secure.

On October the third, Mal is in a meeting with the council. This is one of the few meetings she gets to attend with Ben, and she's rather enjoying the feel of his hand atop hers when her cell phone dings and rings against the table, drawing all conversation to a halt.

"Sorry," Mal blushes as she reaches for the beeping object. "I must have forgotten to silence it." She flips it over to reach for the end call button, and then pauses and narrows her eyes suspiciously at the contact.

"Who is it?" Ben asks, nudging her and glancing over her shoulder. Mal holds up a finger.

"Sorry, I need to take this real quick," She mumbles and slides the dial to accept the call. "Hello? This is Mal?" Ben gives her an incredulous look. Everyone else exchanges miffed looks. It's quite rude for the hostess to be taking a cell phone when Audrey of Auroria was so carefully trying to explain about climate changes in her kingdom.

"Mal?" Ben raises his hand to the phone at her ear to try and draw it away, signaling her to head outside to take the call or end it.

Mal gestures with her finger at him even more firmly. "Yes?" She asks in a low and dangerous tone that makes a few royals take their hands off the table. Ben continues trying to catch her gaze up until her eyes flash like lightning and smoke starts to drift out of her hair. The royals surrounding them jump up out of their seats and withdraw from around her. "Is he still there?" She asks, lowering her tone and squinting at the grains in the table carefully.

"Who is it?" Ben whispers urgently. "What's going on?"

"Give him the phone," Mal commands through gritted teeth before she begins packing up all her notes, her pens, and the papers needed for the rest of the meeting. Ben watches in confusion until she starts hissing into the phone again, and then his blood goes a little cold. "Tyler James, I will be there in a half-hour unless God is really liking you today. Don't you dare move from that chair until I walk through those doors."

Ben backs off. He backs far off.

"No, no," Mal snaps over the sounds of someone crying on the other end. "You may ask your father for grace when you get home but not even the law can protect you from me, young men." She snaps her fingers towards Ben to indicate she's talking to him now as she gets up from her chair. "Ben, cover this all for me."

"Are you going to go get him? Is he hurt?" Ben asks, starting to get to his feet. Mal gestures at him to sit down.

"No, no he's not hurt. Yet." The last word she hisses into her phone and Ben hears Tyler crying on the other end of the line. "He's coming straight home." She hangs up without even a goodbye and shoves her chair back under the table with a screech and a thud.

"Is he in trouble?" Ben asks as she walks away.

"Big trouble," Mal affirms. "Hope you feel like playing the good parent tonight, because I'm about ready to barbecue a six-year-old snot."

Without another word, she snaps the door open and leaves. Ben stares at the closed door in something like shock. What could Tyler have done? Sure, he's energetic and hot-headed and he's fallen or gotten in an argument or two, but never bad enough that Mal had to leave to go get him. And he hasn't heard her get that angry at one of the kids in… ever.

Everyone's looking at him for answers, and so Ben takes a deep breath and forces a smile. "Sorry, Audrey," He apologizes to the miffed woman. "Family emergency. Please continue."

He glances at his phone for the rest of the meeting, hoping for some sort of update from his wife. No such thing comes through. The meeting finally lets out and then he walks everyone down to the front entryway, still checking his phone for any sort of correspondence.

As everyone is coming down the front stairwell, the door opens, and Tyler walks in, sobbing unashamedly and keeping his face turned towards the ground. Mal enters after him, madder than mad. Tyler reaches the staircase, looks up and sees his dad, and then collapses to the staircase crying. He buries his face into his knees and lets his backpack fall beside him as Mal starts to storm up the stairs. Some of the royals who don't quite care as much about drama in the head family start heading out the door, but others stop and stare at the purple-haired prince in concern.

Ben catches Mal's arm as she starts to head up to their apartment, so angry her face almost matches her hair. "What happened?" He demands, casting worried looks at the child on the steps.

"Oh, you'll never believe it!" Mal exclaims in a moment of flamboyant rage. She completely forgets about the other royals surrounding them as she whirls down to direct her statements down the stairs. "I can't believe such a horrible thing would happen in our family and especially that one of our kids did it. I'm never been so embarrassed and upset at one of them!" Down the step, Tyler only cries harder. He's hiccupping so much he sounds like he's about to cough up a lung. Mal has no sympathy as she turns back around. "He's going to tell you all about it because I can't stand to look at him right now!"

"I'm sorry!" Tyler whimpers from the bottom steps. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry,"

"No you're not," Mal hisses. "But you will be."

She turns and leaves without another word. Ben's left to gape open-mouthed as other royals start shuffling towards the door, some still trying to hang back and see the drama. He starts trying to lead people to the exit, walking around Tyler until everyone is finally gone and left. Then, he goes over to sit in front of Tyler and pull the details out of him. It's all in hiccups without looking at him once, but that doesn't make Ben feel any sorrier once he figures out what happened.

Hmm. Turns out Mal wasn't overreacting. She might have been underreacting.

He hasn't felt this much rage towards one of his children before.

"You better scram," He growls when Tyler's finished explaining everything to him. "Because I have never been this disappointed in you. I don't want to look at you either. You go straight up to your room and don't you dare come out until we come to get you."

Tyler sprints away immediately, crying in sadness and fear, and Ben only feels a few pangs in his chest before he has to get up, grab Tyler's backpack, and head up the stairs.

Up in the kitchenette, Mal is balancing the baby on one hip as she nurses a glass of ice water with the other. Ben hangs up Tyler's backpack and goes to stand against the bar as she takes a few deep breaths.

"How many kids?" Ben mutters in a harsh whisper.

"They're saying eight now," Mal replies. Her voice is much calmer now that her eyes are closed and she's balancing Belle and her water. "But it might be more. They're asking his old classmates and everyone in his grade right now."

"How'd they catch him?" Ben asks.

"One of the kids broke down when the teacher asked how they'd liked their treat," Mal says nonchalantly. "They think he's been threatening kids since before school let out last year."

"He doesn't know who told, right?" Ben asks. He doesn't want the poor kid under more stress.

"No, he does know. The teacher was talking to the whole class when it happened. That's how they found out it was so many kids all at once. Once one kid admitted it the rest broke down too. The teacher took the entire class straight to the office and they've been going through everyone and calling parents for the last two hours. They called us last when they knew how many kids were in his class that he'd threatened."

"Greedy little punk."

"What're we going to do?"

Ben has no idea what to do. Zach never even went to school, much less bullied his class into giving him stuff. And the stipulation… he hasn't been this mad in a very, very long time. "And he used us?" He asks, voice trembling with barely concealed fury.

"Some of them he did. He said we'd get them and their parents in trouble. Others he just used his magic to threaten them."

"And no one got hurt?"

"No, but everyone's pretty scared of him now," Mal sighs, shaking her head. "He's suspended all this week and next. Maybe I should pull him out and make him tutor at home?"

"I don't know," Ben shakes his head, taking a seat at the bar. "He's got to apologize to his whole class, though. And we've got to figure out a good punishment for him."

"I don't think we need to yell at him anymore," Mal sighs. "I traumatized him enough just walking into the building. He wet himself on the way out to the car. What did you do?"

"Told him I was disappointed and that I couldn't look at him and to go sit in his room." Ben runs a hand down his face. "It won't be as effective though. He's a momma's kid."

Mal nods with a hum and kisses Belle's forehead as their five-month-old sleeps against her chest. She's currently wearing Ben's looks right now, as she often does when she's asleep. She tends to take on Mal's hair and pallor when she's angry, hungry, excited, or when she's having a particularly colorful dream. "I wonder if we made him pay dividends out of his own pocket for the class?" She asked. "Aladdin and Jasmine had Aziz do that while he was growing up if they caught him stealing."

Ben tosses the idea back and forth and then nods in approval. "I like that idea, actually," He sighs. "Maybe we should pull him out until the winter semester and give him a tutor until then. Keep him under wing so he doesn't lash out at anyone until then."

Mal hums her approval and then flicks her eyes towards the door. "Should we go talk to him now, or give him more time to cool down?"

"I don't want to look at him right now," Ben growls and leans forward to put his head on the table. "Oh… that child… he's got such a sharp tongue."

"You're telling me," Mal muttered, taking a seat beside him.

"You know he gets it from you, right?" He turns to stare at Mal. "Him and Zach both. All their wit comes from you and your parents. They talk circles around me."

"That's flattering, Ben," Mal rolls her eyes. She sighs and leans her head on his shoulder, balancing the baby in her lap far enough away that Belle's not breathing the underside of the table. "I need a nap."

Ben laughs. "Only a nap? I need a full winter's hibernation."

"I need a grave," Mal responds dryly.

"Here lies Mal Betha's patience."

"And Ben Florian's wit."

"Ouch."

"…"

"Should we go talk to him now?"

"I thought you needed a hibernation?"

"Oh, believe me, wrestling with that kid is going to put me into a coma, easily."


	12. Girl Talk

Tyler does extra chores around the castle all the days he's home from school. Lumiere puts him to work mopping floors, scrubbing windows, polishing silverware, and vacuuming. In the evenings, he still has to do all the schoolwork he missed at the bar while Zach reads through his textbooks and writes in his new hardback leather journal that he got for his birthday. His composition notebook is full and in a prized position in his bookcase while the journal gets to take up the treasured place on his headboard with his old dictionary.

When Tyler has to go back to school, he's still a bit short of being able to afford what he and Ben and Mal agreed would be honorable compensation for the class – a bunch of goodies for them each with extra items for the kids he was heckling – but Ben and Mal aren't willing to be very merciful in this case. Tyler and Ben go through his room and clean out a bunch of things for Tyler to put up for sale on the internet. Ben and Mal go ahead and buy the supplies so he can spend his last Sunday evening at home making gifts for the rest of his classmates, but they make sure he knows he owes them now.

Tyler is sick of doing so much extra work and sick of having his parents so mad at him, so he wakes up early for school and gets ready without prompting and is excited to get out from under his parent's thumb.

At the school, Mal walks him inside with pinched lips and makes him stand by the teacher's desk while the rest of the class does their exercises. Mal can tell which kids were the most traumatized. They're the ones who refuse to stare at her as their little hands shake.

Tyler gives an apology to the entire class, refusing to lift his head more than a few inches and with his cheeks stained bright red. His voice shakes and is much quieter than usual. Occasionally, he glances at the back to make sure his mom isn't getting more mad at him. Mal watches the teacher's face. She looks pretty darn impressed as Tyler passes out his apology gifts after explaining briefly about them. Finally, Tyler is done and he does his best to not pout as he looks back at his mom.

Mal gets down on a knee so she doesn't have to stand over him. "I'm proud of you for doing that," she tells him, loud enough for everyone else to hear. "But if I ever hear about you doing something like this again, and especially if you're using Dad and me as a threat, then we're going to make sure the punishment is a lot worse than this."

"Class?" The teacher calls for attention as Mal gives Tyler a quick hug and pushes him to take a seat. "What should we say to Tyler?"

"Not Thank-you," Mal interrupts before anyone can say it. She gives Tyler a firm look. "He shouldn't have been a bully in the first place. So, don't make anyone say thank-you if they're still hurt by him."

"I'm gonna say thank you," someone mutters from the front and then turns around. "Thanks, Tyler."

Tyler just shakes his head and puts it down on the desk. "I'm sorry," He repeats and hides his face.

The teacher is impressed. "If everyone parented like you, we wouldn't have problems with bullies," she says.

The compliment helps. It does. But Mal doesn't let it show as she rests a hand on her son's neck and runs her fingers through his hair comfortingly. "I'm going to go now," she announces slowly, and he sits back up and twists around in his seat to hug her. In front of all his friends, too. Hmm. "Love you, Beastie."

"Love you too, Mom," He mumbles under his breath and then turns back to the class. The teacher starts the day as everyone fidgets with the things Tyler brought as an apology. Mal sneaks out the door silently.

* * *

Where do years go so quickly? Tyler seems to climb another grade every other day… and now suddenly Auradon Accelerated is asking Zach to specialize because he's completed all of the general education courses. He's already eligible for a degree in mathematics or biophysics and he's only eleven. Ben and Mal agree to let him go for his old favorite; Microbiology and Metaphysics.

Tyler ditches dance fully for theatre and focuses on acting and performing, just like Mal thought he would. He graduates from the children's theatre to a small-town acting organization. He's not a bad dancer still and not a bad singer either. It makes her proud because she can see some of her qualities in him when he's acting or helping to build backstage props. She has to pitch in a lot to help, and it's hard, but it's also really fulfilling with how much fun he has with it all.

Belle reaches four. She learns to dance practically right after she learns to walk and is singing in babbling tones before she can even talk. She's a big blanket lover, which is new because Zach enjoyed books and Tyler enjoyed action figures. Mal's never had to look after one blanket that gets dragged out of the house, through the mud and dirt, into the car, and around the palace. She has to time when it's washed just right, or Belle will notice it's gone and break down. So long as Ben is around to cuddle with her while the blanket is absent, then she's fine. She's a big daddy's girl. It makes Mal a little jealous because her last little baby is probably the least like her out of all of them. She loves being her dad's princess and wearing the heels that Mal hides in the back of her closet and stealing makeup and using markers as lipstick. If not for her purple hair, which she likes wearing all of the time except when she's cuddling with Ben, she'd be more like Evie's daughter than Mal's.

At the end of the year, before school lets out again for Tyler and Zach decides to stay on for the summer semester of college, he creeps into Mal's room with a little blush and asks if he can ask her something. She closes the door so they can sit on her bed and talk. Zach sits at the edge of the bed, twiddling his thumbs like Ben does when he's trying to find the right words for something and rocks back and forth with a blush. "Mom?" He finally asks. "How do you get girls to like you?"

Part of Mal's world stops. She tilts her head to consider the question. Not only who it's coming from, but how it's being presented. Her son is twelve. That's only four years younger than Ben was when he met her. She should probably start getting used to this idea now. "Well, Baby, it depends," She sighs, and Zach wrinkles up his nose at the nickname he still hates. Mal doesn't care. She'll use it when he's eighty if she's still around. She's his mother and that's a right she holds. "If it's someone specific, she might have something special that she likes you to do. If it's girls in general, then that's a little bit different."

"Like how?" Zach asks, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. It occurs to Mal how big he's gotten. How tall is he? He's not taller than her yet, right?

Mal hums and tugs on her hair as she thinks. "Okay, listen, I'm going to tell you this, but you have to keep it a little secret, okay? I figured this out after I married your dad when I was watching all my friends and his friends get married. And it's a little sneaky, but it works almost every time." She exhaled and spread her hands out a little. "If you want a girl to like you, then you need to go and find out who her dad is and who her brothers are or if she has any close guy friends. Then, you go and become friends with them. The more you act like and hang out with people she already likes, the more she'll like you."

"But dad says you shouldn't act like something you're not," Zach frowns.

"And you shouldn't," Mal affirms. "But when you hang out with lots of friends of one type, what happens?"

Zach falls silent as he thinks. "You… start acting like them," he answers finally.

"Exactly," Mal nods. "So hang out with her friends, do things you all like together, and she'll notice you like that. The second thing is to talk to her, and that's where most people stop or go wrong. Because you don't want to come right out and confess love or anything. You want to wait so that you have a good friendship first. So ask her about her day and about things she likes to do and if she mentions she'll be doing something, ask her about it later. It's really impressive when you remember things about other people. Your dad remembered my entire schedule for me when we were dating, and that helped me a lot because I sometimes forgot. And now, he remembers everything I told him about the Isle, and that's good because he knows how to talk to me about it."

"That makes sense," Zach nods, looking very comforted. "I'm glad you give straightforward answers. Dad just said to be yourself and everything will work out."

"That's important after you start dating." Mal rolls her eyes. "Taking initiative is a little different." She elbows Zach a little. "So, is there someone special you like?" She teases.

Zach blushes. "No," He protests. "No, that's silly, mom." He falls quiet, still twisting his thumbs around. "Mom? Would you be mad if Tyler or Belle or I fell in love with someone who was the same gender? Like if I fell in love with a boy or if Belle fell in love with a girl?"

"I wouldn't be mad," Mal shakes her head. "You're my son and I love you and that's the way you feel."

"But you wouldn't want me to change?" Zach asks. "Because kids at school talk about their parents and their parents sound mean."

"Zach, baby," Mal exhales and tilts her head. "What happened to me on the Isle of the Lost?"

Zach's shoulders hunch over and his eyes go wide as he gulps. "Lots of bad things," he says.

"And why don't we talk about it?" Mal asks.

"Because it hurts you."

"But it was a long time ago. Shouldn't I get over it? Shouldn't I change?"

Zach stays silent for a long, long time. Then he finally manages to shake his head. "No. It's just the way you feel."

"Exactly," Mal agrees in a hushed tone. "It wouldn't be right to tell me not to feel the way I feel. You can't argue with feelings."

Zach nods amicably at this description as if it makes a lot of sense to him. "I think Grandpa Adam might be mad," he tells her.

"Well, I think Grandpa Adam doesn't get a say in what happens in our family," Mal replies. Zach starts laughing. She smiles and leans forward on the bed to focus on Zach. "You should know one thing though," she cautions. "Because you're going to be king one day, you're going to have to decide where the kingdom will go. So if you have a son or daughter, it'll go to them. Or you might have to appoint someone else to the stead." She shrugs as if it doesn't matter that much, even though it's a pretty heavy decision. "So keep that in mind."

"I don't think I like boys very much," Zach admits with a deeper blush. "But I know lots of pretty girls. It's kinda hard to find out who's pretty and mean versus who's pretty and nice."

"That is hard," Mal agrees. "I knew lots of mean boys growing up, so when I met your dad I didn't believe he could be as good as everyone said he was."

"Dad told me that I should look out for girls like you," Zach says, puffing out his chest a little. "Because I said I wanted to love someone like Dad loves you, and so he said to find someone like you."

"Like me?" Mal laughs, putting a hand over her mouth. "That's a very mature thought, though."

"I haven't found anyone yet," Zach shakes his head and squints at the ground. "But I know lots of funny and strong girls my age, so maybe I'll talk to them first."

Mal's touched. She feels a blush rising into her cheeks as Zach stares off into the distance. "That's very sweet, honey," She whispers.

"Honey is not better than Baby, mom."

"It wasn't supposed to be."

Zach sighs irritably and hops off her bed. "Thanks, mom. That helped me a lot." He wraps his arms around her waist. Mal hugs him back, then stands up. A quick glance reveals he's now up to her mouth. Pretty soon, he'll have to lean down so she can kiss his head. A few stubborn tears fill her eyes.

"Anytime," she whispers. Zach steals one last hug and then leaves without looking back.

* * *

Tyler brings home his sixth-grade field trip permission form for both of them to sign and looks a little tense as he slides it onto the counter. "Mom, Dad?" He asks. "Our class is going to be going to the Memorial for the Isle of the Lost next week. We're going to be walking around some places on the old Isle with a tour guide. There's an alternative video, but I want to go! All my friends are going and I know it's not your favorite place but there is going to be a quiz on it and it's part of the curriculum so pleasepleasecanIgoplease?"

Ben pauses in reading his paperwork and watches his son dance back and forth anxiously with his fingers crossed for luck as he awaits their response. He's forgotten how he'd instituted Isle culture as part of Sixth Grade Curriculum. He glances over at Mal. Her expression is blank. She doesn't quite seem to have an opinion as she turns the page over and examines the details of the trip. "Bargain Castle," She whispers as she reads. "That's where I grew up."

Ben reaches across the table for her hand, but she gives him the paper instead before turning to pull out some chocolate pudding for Belle. Tyler explodes a little in his excitement. "You could come to be an advisor!" He exclaims. "You could go on the trip with us and-"

"No, Tyler," Mal shakes her head. "I don't want to go there." She flips on the radio in the kitchen and turns on the Hot 100 station. Belle starts bopping her head to the beat along with Ben as he reads. It makes her laugh to see them doing the same motion without realizing it. "I have no problems with it if you want to go, though."

Tyler deflates a little but looks over at Ben with hopeful eyes. Ben holds out a hand. "Pen?" He asks, and Tyler quickly dashes to grab him one

They don't say much else on the Isle of the Lost.


	13. Old Home

Zach is fourteen when he graduates with his first official degree in Metaphysics. It's a very long, hot, hard day. Belle sunburns since she's wearing Mal's skin when they go out. She likes the attention that the colorful hair garners, and she's pretty enough to keep people's attention after they notice her. It makes Ben antsy. He doesn't like older boys taking glances at his little seven-year-old.

Zach is the shortest person on stage, but everyone regards him as someone cool that they like. He's an inspiration to be graduating with something that advanced in such a short amount of time. Also, his parents are the King and Queen, and he's two years off of becoming King, so there's a certain level of respect that has to be garnered.

Zach stumbles off the stage at the end of it all and rushes over to them for photos. "Look!" He exclaims, smiling broadly as he waves his diploma. "Look! I did it!"

He stops in the sunlight so Mal can take a few photos of him, and then he jumps to her side. "I want a photo with you!" He exclaims. "You and Dad. Hey! Tyler! Can you take our photo?"

It is a very weird feeling to be standing beside her graduated son while her other son takes a bunch of photos. It is even weirder when she looks over and Zach and realizes she's now looking up at him. He's officially passed her.

* * *

Belle first asks about the Isle of the Lost when she's nine and both Zach and Tyler hush her before Mal can even start to formulate a response. Their reactions are so perfectly timed and so right-off-the-bat that it takes her even longer to figure out what to say. "I don't talk about it much, do I?" She asks aloud. Zach and Tyler both shrug noncommittally and turn away.

Evie and Jay talk about their experiences on TV and in interviews and every year on the anniversary of the barrier falling. Carlos will talk about it with anyone who asks. But not Mal. She's never been too comfortable sharing her experiences with others.

"Would you like to go with me sometime?" She asks her children.

The boys look shocked at the offer, but Belle perks up. "Sure!" She agrees, ever eager to go somewhere with her mom.

"We'll have to go before Zach is crowned," Mal decides. They don't have a lot of time. Already, Zach is being booked with suit sizings and cake testings. Ben's been pulling him into the office more and more to show him how things work and the cathedral is already booked for coronation day.

A week later, Mal returns to the Isle for the first time in a long time. She drives them in herself. Ben stays behind in Auradon. He's never quite liked the Isle. But he promises to have dinner ready for them when they get back and asks them to call when they make it across the bridge.

"I remember this place!" Tyler announces from the backseat as they start to cross into the older parts of town that will never be renovated because they are a memorial to the horrible conditions people lived in.

Belle wrinkles her nose up. "People lived here?" She demands.

Mal stops the car outside a crumbling lot and lets the kids get out and wander. Only Tyler has been here before, though Belle will probably come with her sixth-grade class when the time comes.

"Do you see that big stone building?" Mal asks, pointing to a high-rise home.

Belle wrinkles her nose even further. "It looks like it's about to fall over."

"That's where I grew up," Mal reveals. All three kids fall silent. Mal offers her arm to Zach and then begins to lead them in. Mal shows her pass to the security guard as they step in, proving who she is and what this place means to her. The castle isn't open to general public without an appointment. The guard lets them all pass without much comment, though.

The door to Bargain Castle swings on two rusty hinges. Rust and dust float to the ground as the door slides open. Belle coughs and Zach wraps an arm around her small frame. Mal and Tyler light their eyes up in an effort to see more, but Belle and Zach simply wait for the dust to settle. "When I came home from school," Mal begins, entering her old home and opening a window to let the daylight in, "I always took my stuff up to my room because my mom had friends who would steal my stuff and sell it if I didn't keep track of it."

The room is probably as big as their living room, but much taller because part of the second floor caved in and added some jagged height to the room. The wallpaper is peeling off worse than it was when Mal lived here and some things are knocked over, but it's overall the same. Rusty kitchen utensils hang along the wall beside a hazardous stove. Mal peels off her jacket to reveal a tank top, which she wore today on purpose. Tyler's face goes red as he watches her turn and put it down on a chair and she knows he's reminiscing when he drew all over himself because he wanted her 'battle marks'. He has scars now – the three marks Zach gave him in their fight years ago, a few things from getting hurt on set or being too reckless. And now that he kinda has an idea of how hard something has to hurt to leave a permanent mark, he doesn't talk about any of Mal's stark white shapes on her back.

Mal turns the underside of her arm over as Zach peers cautiously at the fridge magnets, which have been arranged to say 'Wicked' and "Evil'. "My mother was delusional," She calls, fighting to keep her voice from clamping up as she tries to explain these hard, hard things to her children. "She was sure that that was a locked safe and decided she didn't know how to open it. She used to go over and throw herself at it until someone helped her."

The scene she describes is almost comical, but no one laughs. Mal holds up her elbow and shows them an odd mark hidden behind her elbow, right on her tricep. "You had to be the right person to help her though. She usually wanted the Evil Queen or Cruella to help her when they were over. I tried once and she was so furious that she held my arm to that stove as punishment."

Zach jumps away from the stove like it's alive or dangerous. Belle spins away from Mal so she doesn't have to look her mom in the eyes. She goes and curls up in her oldest brother's side and they draw comfort from each other as Mal fingers the odd patch on her skin. She glances at the creaking, crumbling steps that lead to the second floor. "Let's go upstairs," she decides, turning to head towards the steps.

"I don't want to go up there!" Zach yelps, peering at the gaping hole in fear.

"It's safe," Mal assures him. "They lead tours through here, remember Tyler?"

Tyler's face is white. It's looking like he does remember, but he didn't exactly get this rundown the first time he was here and he doesn't want to be getting it now. Chances are, all the school said was: "This is where Queen Mal grew up," if that.

"That's not what I meant," Zach trails off. His face is pasty white as his gaze flickers between his mom, the stove which will probably haunt his dreams, and the upstairs.

Mal starts up the stairs, and slowly all three kids follow.

Up here, it is cleaner than it was when she lived here. She used to have to navigate piles of metal, bricks, and glass in the dark. And all the doors are open so people can peer in as they walk through. Mal lets the kids examine the bathroom briefly before pointing to the door closest to the stairs on the left side. "This is my old room."

One by one, the kids peer inside. She can see them drawing up visions of their comfortable rooms at home and comparing them. Her old room is much, much bigger than any room in their little apartment. A very large and cushy bed fills most of the space, which would look inviting if not for the broken, rotting posts, the moldy grey and green sheets, the rips and tears visible along the entire thing, and the odd depressions scattered along in the mattress. On one side of the room is a wall of shelves. Plastic and metal and wooden shelves that she built out of old boards and rusted nails or little plastic sliding drawer compartments that she screwed to the wall to discourage her mother from stealing them. Large gouges of sheetrock have been punched out of the wall – literally in some cases. Mal points to the back of the room where the paint has been stripped away in most places and the wall is full of holes like a honeycomb. Old blood streaks the walls. "That was my area," she says and even now, forty years later, can't keep the hints of pride out of her voice. "I practiced hitting there. You can't tell from here, but I once punched a hole through the sheetrock and out through a board that was serving as the exterior wall. I was so proud – even though my room was cold after that."

"It's so… dark in here…" Belle whispers, leaning into the room and peering from side to side. A velvet rope across the door forbids them from going any further.

"We didn't have lights," Mal nods in agreement. She sets a hand on Zach's shoulder and he almost jumps through the roof. "I think Dad told you something about my mom when you were younger? About how she used to take money and information?"

"She sold you," Zach confirms flatly, face going a bit green as he avoids her eyes. He's older now, and he mostly knows what that statement means though he avoids thinking about it. Tyler jolts in shock to hear it.

Mal nods to the bed, with its flamboyant oversized-ness and odd depressions near the middle and the edges. Her hands shake against her sides. "That often happened here," she tells them and then turns away.

Maybe she can't see their reactions, but she can hear Tyler and Zach breathing carefully like they've been punched as they gape a few seconds longer at the room. Part of Mal wants to dig a little deeper. She's never really felt brave enough to tell them about all of this and doubts she'll ever be able to again. She wants to describe the horror she felt every individual time and the struggle it was and how her mother would bang on her door and shout to not make so much noise if she happened to cry.

But part of the boys are still young and innocent to her past. And the bigger part of Mal wishes they'd always stay like that.

"This is Grandma Maleficent's room," Mal announces when the three finally stop comparing their lives with her old one and wander down closer to her. Maleficent's room is by far the filthiest, with piles of black fabric and heaps of charcoal and half-drawn blueprints of the Isle of the Lost strewn about. They can't see her bed from this angle; only the trash and a few random stools and a large foreboding statue are visible from the door. "I wasn't allowed in this room."

Not much is left to be said.

The last room is one that Mal doesn't introduce. She leans against the doorframe as the kids look inside. Tyler knows what it is but doesn't announce it. Zach catches on quicker than Belle does. When he realizes, he stumbles back down the hall, shaking his head. "No, mom," he moans, covering his ears with his hands. "No more stories, please?"

"You can go back downstairs if you want," Mal says softly. However, Zach doesn't. He just hovers where he can't see the inside of the room.

Inside, the room is almost entirely made of stone except for one patch of wood underneath four hanging chains. On the wall hangs a variety of scary-looking tools ranging from knives to screwdrivers to handsaws and forks. Everything is twisted and rusted over with age. A few things probably still have blood on them, though none of the kids will know that in the dim light. They can, however, see the state of the wood on the floor. She doesn't say anything as they take in the depressions made from dripping liquid over a long period of time and the thick brown stains on the floor.

"This is where I would stay if my mother was mad at me," Mal says simply. She has to keep it simple, otherwise, her brain will remember everything and try and block out the bad memories. "If I did something wrong or if I couldn't finish something she told me to do or if she was in a bad mood, then I'd stay here instead of in my room."

"And she'd chain you up?" Belle asks softly.

Mal nods. A dull ringing is filling her ears. "Do you see all the things on the wall?" She asks.

Tyler and Belle nod. Zach covers his ears down the hall.

"My mother's favorite was the fork," Mal reveals.

There are several long moments of silence. Then, Tyler manages to croak out: "Did she just… rake you with it?"

Mal shakes her head. "No. See, it was harder if I had the energy to struggle, so she'd string me up by my wrists and shoulders for a few days until I was hungry and too tired to move as much. Then she'd use the knives to make the cuts before sticking the fork in and twisting it. That's why I have so many ugly marks on my back. She also liked to separate my skin from my back using the screwdriver."

She turns away then and walks back to the stairs because the ringing in her ears is getting louder and she feels dizzy. It's been thirty years, but she can still feel her mother's maniacal laugh as she pulls skin straight off of muscle by running that thing between the two layers.

"How are you alive?" Belle asks in a shaky voice as they wander down the stairs again.

Mal shrugs. "I guess I was too stubborn to die," She decides. "Or maybe I just got used to it."

"But Grandma did try, right?" Zach croaks out as he stumbles back onto the ground level.

Mal nods. She should have figured this would come up. "Every so often," She confirms. "I usually just left home and went to stay with friends until she forgot about it."

None of them feel like wandering anymore, so they all sit out in the sunshine on the hood of the car while Mal pokes around at her past, telling stories about Evie and Jay and Carlos and the chaos they'd cause or what school was like over here. She works her way from the beginning slowly, skipping over the worst or the longest stories because it's not what she can handle. She ends with her version of the one they know the best.

"My mother's goons moved behind my friends. She told us we'd been invited to go to a different school in Auradon. This was about an hour before the limo picked us up. We packed up and our parents gave us a mission to steal the wand. A long, sleek black car pulled up right here. All the other kid's parents came down to see the car but my mother stood up there so she could watch me get in. One of her fingernails was green." She drums her fingers on the car's hood and then glances over to see her children staring at the sky while they listen intently to her. "And then I went to Auradon that day."

"And met dad," Zach huffs, watching the clouds roll on by.

"And met dad," Mal affirms.

Belle curled up. "I want to go home," She moans, closing her eyes. Her hair shifts color from purple to blonde and her skin tans over. "I want to go see dad."

Mal snorts and sits up. "Me too," she whispers. "Let's go."

The drive home is mostly silence, though they stop and get ice cream through a drive-through on their way home. "This is where we told Zach and Tyler that we were going to have you, Belle," Mal calls to her youngest as she passes towering ice cream cones around.

"I'm still mad you're not a boy," Tyler grumbles, sinking into his chair.

They stumble through the door; an array of kicking shoes off and dropping coats and balancing ice cream as they come. Ben watches, amused. It's been the same show every day of their lives. Zach hugs him first, burrowing his face into his shoulder before stumbling off to the hall to go down to his room. Tyler is next, giving Ben a quick hug before sitting down at the bar to finish his ice cream. Belle burrows into Ben's side and nuzzles against his chest for several long seconds before her hair starts to pick up purple streaks again. "I don't like the Isle of the Lost," She whispers in his ear.

"Me neither," Ben mumbles, running his fingertips up and down her back with a glance to Mal. "Are you gonna go sit in your room for a little bit?"

Belle nods and withdraws from him. "I might try to write a song again," She sighs and disappears. She's taking piano now, and so a keyboard is set up in her room for when she doesn't feel like going down to the palace sitting room to use the baby grand piano. Mal sets her ice cream down on the counter and pulls out two spoons to share with him. Tyler takes chocolate syrup out of the fridge, coats his ice cream, and leaves for his room. They wait until piano tones are floating down the hall and Tyler's door has closed before Mal sits beside Ben and leans her head against his shoulder. He wraps an arm around her without a word.

"I did it," She whispers against his shirt.

He hums, a deep rumble in his chest that almost immediately lulls Mal to sleep.

"It wasn't so hard to talk once I got there."

He rubs his fingertips up and down her back.

"Do you think I've raised them right?"

This is the first thing he responds to after he hoists her off her chair and into his embrace fully. "Well," he sighs against her ear, tickling her hair against her lobe, "Considering we're putting a fully-fledged genius on the throne in two weeks and he's set to gain a degree in both psychology and political sciences next year, I don't think there's any way you could be considered a bad mother. Not to mention Tyler's a talented enough actor to be looking into television roles and Belle's set to perform the national anthem at Zach's coronation."

"Even though I just dragged them through the worst place in Auradon and traumatized them?"

"Traumatized? Hardly. Zach's been asking things since he was six. And he needs to know what's out there. They all do. It's good you finally told them."

"Are you sure?"

He kisses her hair and squeezes her tightly until she can't feel her mother's thirty-year-old hands on her skin and all she can feel is him hugging her. "Positive."


	14. Coronation

It's today. Today is it.

Mal puts her crown on for probably the last time before it goes to the museum to wait for Zach to find a bride. Her hair is already done. Her dress is a slightly different version of the one she wore to Ben's coronation over twenty years ago. In the bathroom, Ben is dabbing on cologne and messing with his hair. He stops when he sees her and pulls her towards the mirror. It's somewhat a tradition for Ben to do her makeup for all these fancy royal events and has been ever since she and Evie stopped living together. He brushes powder over her eyelids and cups her face as he finishes her eyeliner and mascara. She still blushes when he picks up a tube of lipstick and drags his fingers along the underside of her jaw before sliding an even coat over her mouth. More than twenty years and it's still a sensual act. He smirks as he does her bottom lip, pausing to let his gaze flick to hers. She squirms a little and he laughs.

"Care to kiss this all off of me?" She asks with a sigh.

"Not right now," he rolls his eyes as he slides a hand around her back and pulls her flush against his side. "Are you ready now?"

She examines their reflections. He's wearing a very similar suit to the one he was coronated in as well. She tries to remember what they both looked like when he was first crowned and compares them now. Her hair is less vibrant. She's getting older now, and the purple doesn't grow in as strong. There are smile lines around her mouth. Her hips are wider and her skin is much, much softer. Both age and not fighting as much have softened her. Ben is taller. He finished his growth spurt after sixteen. He has muscles in his jaw that he didn't have before from clenching it during meetings. They both have this light in their eyes that must have sunk in at some point during their marriage and subsequent raising of three children. It's something reflected in both their irises that tells the world they love each other and they love what they've chosen to do and they love each of their children on top of all of that.

"Where's Zach?" Ben finally asks, leaning his head on hers.

"I think in his room," Mal parts from his side. "I'll go get him."

She wanders back through their home and past the living room to go find Zach's bedroom. His door is open, and she's not all that surprised to find him sitting on his bed and reading through his very old, well-loved dictionary.

He looks up when she enters and smiles. "Hi mom," he whispers. Mal smiles like it's the first time he ever said that word to her and sits down beside him for a hug. He towers over her, just a little bit shorter than Ben is now, and Mal mourns the days he could fit in both of her hands.

"Hi baby," she whispers against his shoulder. He chuckles at the old, still annoying nickname. On days like today, when they're alone, it's not as annoying. Only endearing. "You ready for today?"

"I guess," Zach sighs and leans back against the wall. "I'm just kinda… taking it all in."

He looks like her. No one can deny it. Her face is hidden underneath all of that hair he inherited from Ben. He's her son and he has her mouth and eyes and nose and everything. It somehow seems masculine even though she knows she has a very feminine face.

He exhales as he looks around the room. Mal sees his gaze land on the bookshelf that they built together, her him and Ben. His eyes drift to his diploma, framed on the wall, and to the pictures of their family and his friends and girls he thinks are pretty taped up behind his desk. They skim all the journals he's gone through over the years and his mouth twists into a chuckle at the one lone composition notebook. He reaches for the guitar leaning against his headboard and strums the chords softly, looking for something to fill the room.

"I didn't feel like I was growing up that fast, but now I'm confused at what happened to all the time," he exhales and glances over at her. He blinks in surprise for a few moments as if he doesn't recognize her. Mal touches her hair self-consciously.

"It goes by fast," she nods. "Of course, you went a bit faster than Belle and Tyler, but they're still growing fast too."

Zach's mouth turns into a little smile that she's seen all too many times in the mirror and captured by nosy cameramen. "Thank you," he whispers and puts her hand on top of his. "For everything. I mean, Dad helped a lot, but you were always my favorite parent."

Mal almost jumps back in shock. "Really?" She gasps and wipes hurriedly at the tears filling her eyes. "Why? I thought that Ben… Dad would have been your favorite. I mean, he's so smart and patient…"

Zach shakes his head and reaches on his headboard for something hidden behind his pillows. He pulls out an origami action figure. A beast. On his blue coat is written the year Zach received him, at age seven. "Well, Dad did know a lot, and I couldn't always talk about what I was learning to you, but you were there for the real stuff. You drove me to school and you made us snacks and you skipped meetings when we were sick…and when I was little I remember that even if Dad was the one tucking me in, you'd still come in and kiss my forehead." He gives her this sheepish, shy smile that isn't quite hers, but she could still imagine herself doing it. "I always pretended I was asleep."

He puts the action figure back down in its protected spot and keeps talking. "You carried us inside when we pretended to be asleep in the car and let us fall asleep on you during movies. You made me do things I hated because you knew it'd teach me patience and hard work and you fixed things when I didn't do them quite right… Mom, I love you. You were the one person I knew would love me and keep me safe no matter what."

Mal feels a bit embarrassed to be crying as hard as she is over this. She wipes furiously at her eyes, knowing she'll have to get Ben to redo all her makeup. "Don't you think I'm an idiot?" She asks, hiccupping. "I'm never going to be as smart as you are."

"What? No! I could never think you were an idiot! To be honest when I was a preteen I just assumed you knew everything because you always had the answers I needed when I went to ask you stuff and you always knew how to say things so that it helped."

"But I don't know about cells and DNA and the spiral things!"

"Who cares? You knew about how to get girls to like me and how to keep me safe and I'm pretty sure that if I had needed to hide a body, you would have known how to help with that too. I mean, Mom, we didn't need security around if you were going with us because the guards knew you'd keep us safe! Do you know how annoying it was to have to take two guards for every person when Dad took us somewhere without you? Of course not! You didn't need them. We knew you'd protect us."

Mal waves her hands at her eyes frantically. "You really think I'm a good mom?" she gasps, trying to stay her tears. "Because I've seriously been thinking all these years that you were going to grow up and accept the fact I know nothing about math and science and just cease to talk to me."

"Mom, I would never do that!" Zach wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her shoulder. "You're the most important person in my life. When I grow up, I want to find someone just like you."

Mal sobs unashamedly, kissing Zach's head and drawing little patterns on his back until her tears calm down. When all is silent again, she hears Zach take a breath and whisper: "It sucks that I'm too tall for hugs like these." He ducks out from under her arm and instead picks her up so he can hug her to his chest, almost exactly like his dad does when she needs extra comfort. She kisses his cheek and hugs him around his neck for several minutes before there's a knock at the door and they both look over to see Ben standing and waiting for them.

Ben rolls his eyes. "You've ruined your makeup," he reprimands softly.

Mal hiccups and wipes her eyes. "I bet," she mumbles.

"The carriage is ready to take you down to the cathedral, Zach," Ben calls. "We'll be taking the fast way in the family car."

"Okay," Zach sighs and sets Mal back down on the bed. He gives her one last hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Mom," he says.

"I love you too, Zach," Mal replies, wiping tears off of her cheeks.

Zach shakes his dad's hand and they exchange hugs and 'I love you's before Zach leaves the room and Ben helps Mal stand back up.

She looks around the room one last time. She remembers bringing him home to this room. Remembers taking down the crib. Remembers guiding him through his first books. There's the guitar in the corner she made him play and the sheets she picked out for him. There's the bookcase she put up and the journals she made him write. This room is his but the fingerprints of all her hard work are all over it.

Ben fixes her makeup and then Belle's. Mal helps Tyler with his tie and his wild hair. They get in the car and head over to the cathedral together, arriving twenty minutes before Zach will. The car feels empty without her oldest reading in the back or passenger seat. His girlfriend is in the carriage with him – they picked her up on the way. Live TV is rolling, cell phones are out as her son comes down the road. He helps her out, they come up to the doors where Ben and Mal wait, and Mal can't help but think everything about this day is perfect.

Nothing about it is easy, but everything is perfect.

And when she watches Ben's old crown go down on Zach's head, she wouldn't have her life go any other way.


	15. PollQuest

**It has come to my attention that the Polls option of Fanfiction network is only available to registered members. Here is my solution - I've copied the poll over to ****h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/-s-u-r-v-e-y-.-z-o-h-o-p-u-b-l-i-c-.-c-o-m-/zs/jgCsyc Simply remove the dashes and it should work as normal. Here are the poll options:**

1.)Maleficent is returned to human form after 100 years and learns about everything that happened.

2.)Ben and Mal are soulmates and grow up communicating from the Isle of the Lost to Auradon. She's determined to steal the wand and gain her mother's approval - he's interested to see how she'll do it without him easily side-stepping her.

3.)Jay is voluntold to be a teacher for someone new from the Isle of the Lost.

4.)Mal brings a daughter with her to Auradon. When she begins falling behind in her classes, Ben steps in to help and is accidentally adopted by her daughter.

5.)It is discovered after a massive tragedy that King Adam was possessed by a demon. His latest recollections are of putting his six-year-old to bed the night before. He has no idea what the Isle became or what he did to become incarcerated.

6.)Dramatic telling of the Fall of Auradon.

7.)Ben dies and a distraught Mal is sent back to live with her Father.

8.)In which the Isle of the Lost is allowed to send delegates to Auradon and young Ben tries very hard to make them feel welcome.(He becomes Maleficent's fav)

9.)Ben really enjoys playing with makeup on Mal but is too afraid of the social stigma to put it on himself.

10.)Mal and Elsa both try to sneak out of a meeting together and 'make a run for it'.

11.)Mal has a (son,brother,importantperson) being held captive on the Isle during the first movie, and if she doesn't steal the wand, they'll be killed.

12.)Ben and Mal's future daughter goes back in time and has to blend in with the VK's while figuring out how to get home.

13.)Westward 2, Eastbound. The barrier to the Isle of the Lost has been severed and Ben has to take his family to the VK's for refuge from Mal's escaped mother.

**Copies of the Poll Link will be available in my Profile Blurb and on my Tumblr Blog of WanderlustandFreedom. **


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